Rengoujin to Suujikukoku no Koimonogatari
by TheNobodyofNamine
Summary: Title:The Allied and Axis' Love Story. Feliciano and Ludwig aren't the only ones with a strained relationship after WWII. This story chronicles the Allied and Axis powers as they discover relationships old and new. GerIta as the main pairing
1. Soshite, America to Nihon wo Hajimaru

A/N: Ever since the end of WWII, some relationships developed while others grew apart. Even though Ludwig and Feliciano have one of the most strained relationships, they aren't the only ones having trouble. So this story chronicles the Allied and Axis Powers, along with their relationships that include love and the meaning of family. Use of human names, and don't worry, the story will get to Feliciano and Germany asap.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, even though I wish I did. ;P

* * *

Chapter One: And it Begins With America and Japan

"Hey, Kiku!!" The Japanese man turned around. It was his best friend, Alfred, who had an ear to ear grin painted on to his face. "Kiku Kiku Kiku! I have a new video game that I wanna play with you! I even have a movie we can watch together. Wanna come over?" Kiku cocked his head to one side. "What kind of game is it, Alfred-san?" Alfred gave a chuckle as a response. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" he asked Kiku playfully. Too playfully for Kiku's liking. "Alfred-san, you know that I am not too fond of surprises. Is it possible to tell me now?" Alfred frowned. "Hey, what's with the formal speech? We're best friends, aren't we? Loosen up," he said as he lightly punched Kiku's shoulder. "And stop adding 'san' to the end of my name. It makes me feel like we're too distant when we're close and..." Alfred trailed off into his inner thoughts. "Um...Alfred-san...I'll go over to your house if you want to play that game. I have time, so-" "-great! Let's go Kiku!" Alfred cut him off, grabbed his hand and dragged him along as if he was a rag doll. "Alfred-san, don't be so rough!" Kiku shouted. Kiku then realized how dirty that sounded and blushed. "Don't be such a baby Kiku!" Alfred said with enthusiasm.

In an instant, they arrived at Alfred's house, only to find Tony watching a slasher film in his dark living room. "Hey Tony! Kiku came over today! Do you mind if we used the t.v.?" Tony looked up from the t.v. screen and nodded. He then got up, turned off his slasher movie and wandered to another part of the house first. "So Kiku, what should we do first? Watch the movie, or play a video game?" Kiku could barely look at Alfred's bright face. "Um...well, what's the movie about?" Kiku asked. Alfred crossed his arms. "It's a mystery. This woman comes home, only to find that her son's missing*. She calls the police, but no one seems to want to help her. Then, she gets a phone call saying that her son's...dum dum dum!!" Alfred bursted in laughter as Kiku kept on staring at him. "Anyways, if you wanna watch the movie first, we can and then play video games later." Kiku held is hand to his chin, deep in thought. "Okay then. Let's watch the movie." Alfred gave Kiku a skepital look as he cocked his head to one side. "You okay? You've seem...spacey these days. Is everything alright?" Alfred put his hand on Kiku's shoulders. "I've just been thinking too much lately..." Kiku then shook his head and his face turned from serious to that of a child's. "I'm sorry, let's just watch the movie. I'll be better soon." Alfred sighed and put on the movie as Kiku sat down on the couch. '_Something's not right..._' Alfred thought. "Kiku, if you wanna talk about whatever's bothering you, we can talk. After all, I'm the hero. I can fix whatever's bothering you."

Kiku smiled at Alfred's kindness. However, the blonde could tell that he was straining to smile. "No, really. I'm fine Alfred-san. I'm fine, really..." Kiku placed his hands on his knees and watched them as they trembled. "I'm fine..." he kept saying to himself. Alfred frowned and sat down next to his troubled friend. Once he sat down, he tried to take a good look at his face. Kiku's pale face was covered by his black bangs, so Alfred brushed his hair out of his face. For a brief moment, Alfred thought he saw tears welling up in Kiku's eyes, but he moved away to soon for Alfred to make sure. "Kiku...what's wrong? Tell me." Kiku looked up, revealing the trail his tears left on his face. "I don't know why I feel this way..." he choked, "there's just so much that's happened and I can't do anything about it..."Alfred frowned once more. "What can't you do anything about?" Kiku gulped as more tears streamed down his face. "F-f-eliciano-kun...h-he attacked me and even n-n-now, we're still not friends. Then there's Ludwig, who refuses to talk to either of us. And of course there's Yao-"

Kiku had stopped there and started to break down into his own hands. Alfred, after witnessing his friend crying so hard, wraps his arm around Kiku's shoulders and pulls him closer to him. Kiku cried on Alfred's chest as he smoothed his hand over his back to calm him down. "Just let it all out, Kiku." Alfred said calmly. "I-I...I want to be brothers with Yao again, but he won't talk to me!" Kiku cried, his voice muffled. "I don't want to be alone like that again! To have no family...and to lose two good friends..." It was then that Kiku looked up and his eyes met Alfred's. Alfred noticed that his cheeks were a faint red. "Promise me that you'll never abandon me." These words struck through Alfred's heart. "H-how can you ask me such a thing when I...when I was horrible to you too?!" Alfred's voice started to crack. "I almost killed you for God's sake, so why ask me to stay?! You should hate me!" Kiku could feel Alfred trying to pull away, so Kiku kept hold of him. "B-because of how we are now! I mean, look at us! After all that's happened, we're still able to laugh and be comfortable with one another. So please...Alfred, I'm begging you...promise you won't abandon me!" Alfred looked at Kiku and cupped his face with one hand, using his thumb to wipe away his tears. Slowly, Alfred felt himself moving closer as Kiku closed his eyes. Their lips met, softly pressing against each other at first. The blonde then licked Kiku's bottom lip, politely asking for entrance. Hesitantly, Kiku opens his mouth, leaving it for Alfred's tounge to explore. Once he got used to it, Kiku slipped his tounge Alfred's mouth. After a while they both pulled away, allowing themselves to breathe.

"Alfred...I love you. Please stay with me always..." Alfred smiled. "I love you too, Kiku. I won't leave you, ever, I promise." Kiku nuzzled at Alfred's chest. But once he heard his heartbeat, he never wanted to move. Alfred kissed Kiku's head. Kiku looked up at him and smiled before kissing Alfred on the cheek. Alfred followed his lead by planting more kisses on Kiku, trailing all the way down to the base of his neck. Kiku gasped and moaned Alfred's name. "You know, Kiku," Alfred said inbetween kisses, "we can stop now and continue our other plans, or we can keep going. Which is it?" Kiku gulped. "I-if it's okay, can we stop for now? I'm sorry, but as much as I love you...I'm just not ready yet." Alfred smiled. "Don't worry. I won't rush you into anything that you're not ready for." He kissed Kiku on the cheek before getting up to put on the movie. As the opening sequence played, Alfred sat back down next to Kiku, with his arm around his shoulder. Kiku sighed in content, feeling a little more secure than he had earlier. He still felt those insecurities inside of his innermost being. Kiku decided to hold off on exploring these feelings and decided to enjoy his time with the man he loved. However, because of all the crying they've done in a short time, both men grew tired and eventually fell asleep during the movie. Tony, who had been asleep in Alfred's room this whole time, woke up to find the two asleep on the sofa. Tony turned off the t.v. and the light before heading back to the bedroom. When he returned, he brought a blanket and placed it on top of Kiku and Alfred.

* * *

So, how is it so far? Good? Bad? Any suggestions? I hope you've enjoyed this so far. =)


	2. Soshite, Kurenai Iro Somatta Koko

Um, I'll apologize now for using swear words in other languages. I don't mean it to be offensive in any way, so please forgive me. And if you're really touchy about cutting, I apologize in advance. To be honest, that was very touchy for me to write about too =\

* * *

Chapter Two: And This Place That Was Dyed Red

Kitchen noises. That's what Alfred was waking up from. For the past couple of days, that's all he's waken up to. And if he wanted to be honest, that's how Alfred liked it. His eyes slowly opened from what he felt like was-and only could be-a dream. He sat upin bed, noticing that there was no one next to him. Alfred groped around the couch for his glasses, only to have them being placed on him. "Good morning, Al-chan," Kiku said, leaning forward as he put on his glasses for him. Alfred blushed at not only their closeness, but also at the face on how cute Kiku looked with his hair framing his gentle face. _My God I have to get used to this, _he thought. However, Alfred let his emotions get to him and enveloped Kiku in his arms. "You're so damn cute!" he exclaimed. Kiku's cheeks turned from pale to a light red. "A-Al-c-chan," Kiku stuttered. Alfred released him, only to cup his face with his hands. "Good morning, Kiku," he said as he lightly kissed him on his forehead. He let out a heavy sigh of relief. "I'm so glad that we can be this way." Kiku nodded with a small smile painted on his lips. "Me too. Now, let's go and eat." Both men got up from the bed and went over to the kitchen. "I hope it's okay that I made soup this morning. I figured out that we could go out somewhere later." Kiku said as they sat down. "Yeah, that's fine." Alfred then put his hands together and bowed his head. "Itadakimasu!" After that, he looked up at Kiku, giving him a small wink. Kiku blushed and this and mumbled, "Itadakimasu."

"So Al-chan, there's a conference tomorrow, right?" Kiku asked as they began to eat. "Yes. I'm hoping that we can meet up to discuss our current problems with the economy and how we can reduce national crime rates." Alfred explained. "Suggoi! That's an amazing good idea Al-chan! I hope we can figure something out..."

* * *

A meeting room that was once full of playful arguments now had a serious atmosphere. As the former Axis and Allied Powers took their seats, Alfred took his place in front of the chalkboard. In one hand he had a pencil and in the other was a strip of paper that looked like an attendance strip. "Alright everyone, this meeting is an invite only, due to past circumstances. Before I start the meeting, I want to make sure we're all here. So please, when I call your name, let me know you're here. Arthur?"

"Present."

"Francis."

"Here, mon cher*."

"Yao?"

"Here, aru."

"Ludwig?"

"Ja."

"Ivan?"

"Here, da."

"Kiku?"

"Hai."

"Feliciano?"

Silence. "Feliciano?" Alfred called out again. Still no answer. The room broke out in whispers, everyone coming up with their own theories on where the Italian could be.

"Someone told him about the meeting today, right?"

"Mon cher, I made sure he got the message."

"Maybe he's taking a siesta?"

"It's a little too late to take a siesta, da."

"Maybe he's just making pasta like he usually does, aru."

As the others talked, Kiku found himself staring at Ludwig, who was keeping himself out of the conversation. "Hey, Kiku. Did you hear from Feliciano?" Arthur asked. Kiku shook his head. "It's been a long time since I've heard from him. I'm starting to get really worried about him." Arthur then turned his attention to the uncomfortable German. "Oi, Ludwig, have you heard from Feliciano?" Ludwig ignored him, concentrating on his folded hands. "Look, we all know that happened, but you have to get over it. This meeting's important, and we all need to be here, otherwise it would be pointless. So do you think you can call him and tell him to get here as soon as possible?" Ludwig shot up from his chair, causing his chair to fall over. All of the nations backed away from the table. Everyone except for Kiku, who stood his ground. Ludwig's hands were shaking as they slammed against the table and his breathing had gotten heavier. "Blödes Arschloch*! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD TALK TO THAT PASTA LOVING FREAK AFTER WHAT HE DID TO ME?!" Ludwig's voice was starting to crack. Cautiously, Kiku moved from where he was and approached Ludwig. "How can you approach someone so calmly?" Francis asked, his voice barely audible. Kiku placed a friendly hand on Ludwig's shoulders and tried his best to soothe his anger. "Ludwig-san, I know how you feel. You're angry and confused, right? But you're also hurt, aren't you. I feel the same way. He _attacked _me. He attacked _me_...I know it's hard to put this behind you. After all, someone who was so close to you hurt you so bad, and-"

"-hùnzhàng*!" Yao said, cutting him off. "What right do you have to lecture someone on feeling betrayed?" Startled, Kiku stepped away from Luwig and tried to speak up."Chigau*!" he shouted. This only agitated Yao even more. '_Kiku, what are you saying?_' Alfred thought as he witnessed the fight between the former brothers. '_I thought you wanted to make up with him, so why say it's different?_' Yao balled his hand into a fist and clenched his teeth, his anger welling up inside of his. "What do you mean 'different'?! Hùndàn*! After all I've done for you, you can still say such things!" Yao walked over closer to Kiku, his rage polluting his way of thinking. Alfred, not knowing what to do, tried to walk over to Kiku, only to have someone hold on to his wrist. "Let them settle this," Arthur told him. Unable to break free from his grasp, Alfred could only stand there and watch as Kiku and Yao argued.

"You got it wrong! What I meant was-"

"Shut up aru! Fèirén*!"

"Just let me explain! What I meant was-"

Kiku's voice was drowned by a slap. He held his cool hands to his red cheek. Yao stared at his hand with a shocked looked, and then glared at Kiku. "I have nothing more to say to you." Yao took in a deep breath and headed out of the room. As he passed by Kiku, he whispered, "Riben Gou*." Kiku stood there in his place, unable to move. Those words echoed throughout his mind. The last time he heard those words was during World War II. The room became dead silent once more. Finally, after being released from Arthur, Alfred ran to Kiku and held him. He kept muttering to the smaller man, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but is threre a meeting today?"

Everyone's attention turned to the door. It was Lovino. "Sorry I'm late. There's been a last minute change. It turns out that I'll be my brother's advocate for this meeting. I hope that's okay with all of you." Alfred cleared his throat. "Yes, please take a seat. Everyone take a seat. We'll begin the meeting. I'm trusting that someone here will inform Yao of everything." Ivan raised his hand childshly. "Don't worry, I'll let him know everything, da."

"Alright, now, concerning the global economy..."

After several hours of debating, the countries came to a decision. "Ludwig, I trust that you'll do your end of the job first?" Alfred asked. Ludwig merely nodded and gave a short response. "Ja, I'll do my best to convince my superiors to agree with your ideas." The American let out a big sigh. "Alright then, I announce this meeting adjourned." Kiku walked up to Lovino, however, something had kept him from looking at the older Italian in the eyes. "Ano...Lovino-san, I was hoping that you could pass this on to Feliciano-kun..." he said as he held out a white envelope. Lovino stared at the envelope, and at Kiku's worried face. "Huh...I don't know if my brother will accept it, but I'll see what I can do." As he took the letter in his hands, Lovino sighed. "I'll call you sometime tomorrow and let you know how my brother takes this letter. Until then." Tired, the Italian headed for the door, only to stop and glare at Ludwig. "Hey, Potato Bastard, do you have anything for my brother?" Ludwig only shook hi head. "Nein." Annoyed, Lovino took in a deep breath and left the room.

However, the moment he saw the bathroom, he quickly ran inside and locked the door. He stared at the mirror, as if he was looking for something in the depths of his reflection. He placed a hand on the mirror and did something unexpected: he started to cry. As he cried, his curl shifted from being on his right side to being on his left side. "I'm sorry I have to trick you all like this. I'm sorry!" He hated being Feliciano. He hated being useless Italy. _'If I can't even help myself, why am I even here?'_ Why he bothered to go to the meeting was beyond him. Lovino even warned him that it was a bad idea. So then why? Feliciano knew that in the depths of his, he could find the answer. But to be completely honest, he didn't want to search for it. Instead he looked within the shelves of the bathroom cabinet, only to find a razor. It smiled at him, and he smiled back. He was useless Italy-no, he would no longer be useless Italy. "Hello there my friend," he said in a shaky voice. "You've come to rescue me, haven't you?" His mind was stained with his distorted thoughts. "Maybe...if I'm dead, they won't worry about me..." He then pulled up his sleeve, and let the cool blade rest against his warm wrist. The next thing he new, red started blooming from his arms. He yelped in pain, only to feel satisfaction take over his body. More streams of red started to flow. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on the floor. His blood was everywhere. On the sink, the rug and it made up the puddle he laid in. He closed his eyes, hoping that no one would find him. Eventually, his body started to become numb. His senses started to leave him. All of a sudden, knocking. All he could hear was someone's fist pounding on the door and a voice that sounded to far away to belong to someone he knew.

* * *

Phew, kinda rushed this one =_=.

Mon Cher- my dear

Blödes Arschloch-stupid asshole

hùnzhàng-bullshit

chigau- to be different, but can be translated as "It's different."

Hùndàn-prick

Fèirén-useless, worthless

Riben Gou-Japanese dog


	3. Soshite, Namida no Ato Ni

Hello there! :D

Please forgive if my medical info is incorrect (it probably is). I'm not a doctor nor do I work in the medical field, so don't quote me.

* * *

Chapter Three: And After the Tears

In the white room, they all watched as he laid there. He had tubes of I.V. and some antibiotics stuck into his arms along with an oxygen mask that allowed him to breathe easier. Poor Feliciano. That day was the fourth day in a row that he's been asleep. Lovino held one of his hands while Kiku held the other as the pale Italian laid in the hospital bed. The two had tried their best not to cry, but Lovino couldn't help it. He sat there next to his brother, muttering, "You idiot, you idiot, you idiot...this is all my fault..." It tortured him, knowing what was going through his brother's mind.

~About five days ago~

It was a warm day. Lovino had finished cleaning out his room and decided to read a book recommended by Antonio when his brother bursted into the room. "Fratello! There's a meeting tomorrow, right?" Lovino looked up. "Yeah, France told me about it. Why?" The younger Italian shook nervously as he looked down at his feet. "I-I w-was w-w-wondering i-if I-I-I could..." Lovino furrowed his brows. "What? What do you want?" Feliciano gulped. "I was wondering if I could go to the meeting as you!" he shouted out of nervousness. His brother could only say, "Eh?"

"What I mean fratello, is that I wanna see everyone. But at the same time, I'm really scared. S-so I-I-I was t-t-thinking..."

"...that you could disguise yourself as me?"

Felicano nodded.

A sigh escaped Lovino's lips. "Frankly, I think that's a bad idea. You could never pull it off. Even if we do look alike, you still can't pull of pretending to be me. You're not-"

"-hey! Potato Bastard! Get the hell away from my little brother! I won't forgive you for tricking him into being your ally!" The elder was taken aback. '_Did he just...?'_ Feliciano continued. "Stop raiding my house during the summer! It's scary, dammit! I'll rip your muscles off your body!"

'_He's pretty good..._'

"Dammit Antonio! Stop comparing me to a tomato! I'm not cute, and my cheeks aren't like tomatoes! Chigi! Antonio, save me you bastard! Save-"

Lovino clamped his brother's face with the book he was trying to read in an effort to calm him down*. "That's going too far. But I have to say, I'm impressed. So listen carefully. I'll let you do this on one condition: You'll yell at that Potato Bastard for me, got it."

"Yes, fratello." said the younger, his voice muffled.

~The Next Day~

"Feli, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes, fratello." he said with determination. Lovino only shook his head. "I don't think so. I think you should just keep quiet and leave it all alone."

"Please, fratello. Let me do this. I...I wanna be friends with everyone again!"

"Feliciano..."

"Please....I feel like this is my only chance!"

Lovino sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to deny his brother his wishes. "Stay here. I'll go get my other uniform. And remember what I said yesterday. I want you to yell at him for me." Feliciano saluted his brother, with his left hand, of course. "Yes, fratello! I'll do my best!"

~End Flashback~

Francis walked towards the bed, surprised that Lovino hasn't said anything to him. "Lovi, mon cher, you can't blame yourself." he said calmly as he smoothed his hand over the younger Italian's hair. "But it is my fault! I should've never have let him do this! I should've paid attention more!" Lovino shouted.

The three had heard the door open. It was the nurse. "I have some more visitors," she said. Behind her were Roderich, Elizabeta, and Alfred. "We came here as soon as we heard." Roderich explained. "How is he doing?" Elizabeta asked. "He lost a lot of blood," Kiku explained in a quiet voice, "and the doctors said that it could take as long as a month-or even more-for him to wake up..." his voiced started to crack, and he grew quiet. Alfred went over to him and held him as he quietly sobbed into his hands. "How could this happen to him?!" Elizabeta cried. "My poor little Ita-chan..._my_ poor Ita-chan!" Tears welled up in her eyes. Roderich did his best to pacify her. "Shhh, it'll be okay. He'll wake up soon, don't worry."

"Roderich, can I speak to you outside?" Francis asked. Roderich nodded and they went into the hallway. "What did you want to talk about?" Roderich asked as he closed the door behind him. "I was wondering if you were going to tell Ludwig about all of this." The Austrian was surprised. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell him. After all, he-" Francis slammed his hand on the wall. "He's the goddamn reason this happened to Feli!" he shouted, "He should at least know about the harm he's done to Lovino and my precious brother! He didn't deserve this! He doesn't deserve this!" Roderich sighed. "Francis, I know how you feel. We all do. Elizabeta and I practically raised him. Lovino loves him, and Kiku values him as a dear friend. We all love him." Francis let out a worried sigh. "Then don't you think that bastard should know the pain he's caused our precious Feli?" The Austrian placed a hand on Francis' shoulder. "Don't you think Feliciano has suffered enough. He loves Ludwig. He loves him, dammit. If we tell Ludwig, he might want to get even more distant from him, and I don't think Feliciano could take that."

"I guess you're right. I don't want to see him depressed like that again." Francis scoffed. "Remember the first time that bastard wouldn't talk to him after the war?" Roderich strained to smile. "Yeah. Poor kid was so upset that he refused to eat pasta. He wouldn't even eat gelato. Elizabeta tried to make him sausages, but that only made it worse." The door opened behind them. "Roderich! Francis! Call the doctor in!" Elizabeta screamed. They could hear the machines inside of Feliciano's room beeping nonstop. "What happened?!" Roderich asked frantically. "I'll go get the doctor!" Francis said as he ran. Elizabeta and Roderich rushed back into the room and were shocked. There was their beloved Feliciano. His arms and legs started to jerk in different directions. Kiku kept crying as Alfred did his best to keep him from having a fit. Lovino kept crying out his name, telling him to stop his movements, even though he knew that his brother couldn't hear him. "I need everyone out of this room." the doctor said as he walked in with a couple of nurses. Slowly-and painfully-everyone left the room and went to the waiting area, with Kiku, Lovino and Elizabeta still crying hysterically. As they found a place to sit, Kiku held his head between his hands.

~Four days ago~

"Kiku, where are we going after this?" Alfred had asked after the meeting. Kiku was already headed out the door. "Do you think you can wait for me? There's something I forgot to tell Lovino to tell Feliciano-kun." With that, Kiku went in search of the older Italian. However, he had an ominous feeling as he walked past the bathroom door. He could've sworn he heard someone crying. At first, he shrugged it off. But then there it was again. He went up to the door, placing his hand on the knob. After realizing that it was locked, he knocked on the door. "Excuse me, is someone there?" he asked quietly. "G-go away!" a voice shouted. Kiku thought for a moment. "Lovino-san, is that you in there?"

"I said go away!"

Kiku's body stiffined. '_No...it can't be..._' But Kiku knew those cries anywhere. He could recognize that voice from a mile away. "Feliciano-kun! Is that really you?!" Kiku shouted as he pounded his fists on the door. "Feliciano-kun, I know it's you! Open up!" His cries became faint. Frantically, Kiku began to kick the door, in hopes that it would open. He backed away, then rammed into the wall as he shouted the Italian's name. "Feliciano-kun! Answer me!" Finally, the door had broken open. "Feli...ciano-kun..." Kiku's eyes had widened. There was his friend, surrounded by a puddle of red. He looked around to see that the sink was almost completely covered with blood. He rushed to his side, cradling the Italian in his arms....

"So much blood...there was so much blood..." Kiku kept saying over and over again.

~End Flashback~

"Are you all family and friends of Feliciano Vargas?" the doctor asked. "Yes, we are. Can you tells us what's wrong with him?" the elder Italian asked with concern in his voice. "What you saw earlier was a seizure. This causes his body to go into spasms. It's almost good in a way that he's in a coma, considering the severity of it all. If he was conscience, the pain would be almost unbearable. But as you can see, his body could still sense this and thus, react to it. We've given him a couple of serums to ease the pain." Lovino stood up. "Will he have more of these seizures?" The doctor thought for a while before speaking. "It's hard to say, although it's unlikely. I took a look at your family's medical history, and it seems that seizures are rare. So it's safe to say that the chances of it happening again will be fairly low." Upon hearing this, Lovino gave a sigh of relief. "There is also something I think you'll be very happy to hear about." said the doctor. "It seems that since his body is starting to react, there's a good chance that he'll wake up soon. Usually, if a patient is in a coma, there's very little brain activity. Even though this isn't necessarily good activity, it's still better than nothing at all." Everyone started to feel relieved. "Now, don't get your hopes up. Soon can mean as close as tomorrow to as far as next month, or longer."

"We know, doctor. But hearing this I'm sure gives all of us some peace of mind." said Roderich. After thanking the doctor and visiting Feliciano for the last time that day, everyone started to head home. "If you need us, don't hesitate to call." Roderich told Lovino. "Don't worry, I won't. If anything happens, I'll let you know." As they went home, Kiku and Alfred approached him. "Um, Lovino-san, I was wondering if it was okay if Al-chan and I can stay over at your place?" Lovino responded with an "eh?" "What he means to say," Alfred explained, "is that we'll be more at ease if we're closer to Feliciano, considering how close you live to the hospital." The Italian did something unexpected: he smiled. "Thank you for your concern. Francis is also staying and Antonio's coming over once he's finished with work. However, there's plenty of room for both of you." Lovino looked up at the night sky. '_Fratello, get better soon. All of us are worried about you._'

* * *

*Lovino clamped his brother's face with the book he was trying to read in an effort to calm him down. _Lovino mimics what Kiku did to Feliciano after viewing his "war history" _XP


	4. Omoidaseba

A/N: Thanks for those who are reading this! It makes me super happy =) anyways, I wanna let you guys know that updates might come slower. The moment my mom looked at me grades, she decided to restrict the time I spend on the laptop =_= But I'll do my best to upload as much as possible! Ganbarimasu! :D

And now with the story ^-^

* * *

Chapter Four: If I Remember...

It was another autumn night.

The black and white keys had made Roderich feel relaxed his whole life. But never before has he felt this at peace when he took his place by the piano. For the past two months, Roderich had been playing more often to calm his nerves. He had told Lovino two months ago that he was willing to help in anyway. However, they haven't spoken since that day. Even though he wouldn't admit to it, this worried him. He heard no news about Feliciano's condition. Not a word. Despite this, he kept a calm composure unlike Elizabeta, who's stress had turned into continuous cooking. For the past five weeks, she's been doing nothing other than staying in the kitchen cooking the days away. At first, Roderich didn't mind the smell of homecooked food. But now, it was starting to get too much. '_She's baking dobos* again...'_ he thought as he began to hit the keys lightly. He let his fingers trace over the keys delicately. All the keys together created the perfect sound.

"Roderich! It's an emergency!" Elizabeta shouted as she bursted into the room. Roderich hit a few off keys and sighed. "Elizabeta, if it has to do with you running out of ingredients, I don't want to hear it. You can just-"

"I just got a phone call from Lovino! He said that it's an emergency and that we should get to the hospital room as soon as possible!" The Austrian immediately stood up. "Did he give any details?" The Hungarian only shook her head. "All he said was for us to get there. He sounded really upset..."

As the two approached the room, they could hear other voices. An obvious one being Lovino. Roderich took in a deep breath before he had opened the door. Peering into the room, he noticed that Antonio, Kiku, Alfred and Francis were there as well. "Lovino, you wanted Elizabeta and I to..." Both of of them were shocked, barely having to have moved past the doorway. Elizabeta slowly walked forward towards the younger Italian's bed, her arms stretched out in front of her. She trembled as she walked, and her breathing slightly got heavier. "I-I-Ita-chan..." Her sight became clouded with tears of happiness, as she saw her precious Italian sitting up in his bed, with his eyes open. She rushed closer, as Roderich finally allowed himself inside the room, his mouth still open. "Ita-chan, I'm so glad you're awake!" she cried as she went over to hug him. It was then that Roderich had noticed something. He noticed that the room felt...uneasy when it should have felt happy. He then looked over at Lovino, who kept his eyes down, avoiding any eye contact.

"Um...excuse me ma'am, but...who are you?"

Elizabeta's arms slowly dropped, and she backed away from the bed. "Ita-chan, don't you remember me?" she asked, her voice becoming shaky. The older Italian cleared his throat. "Feliciano, this is Elizabeta. When you were growing up, she took care of you, along with the man over there." He then pointed to Roderich, who kept a stoic look on his face. Feliciano paused for a moment, then smiled. "Oh, you mean like a mom and a dad?" Elizabeta had mixed feelings about this. Sure, she liked the fact that he practically called her "mom," but at the same time, she wanted her Ita-chan back. However, she kept this to herself and smiled to satisfy the younger Italian. "Since you were little, I've been calling you Ita-chan. Is it alright with you if I can still call you that?" she asked him politely. "Hm...I don't mind, really. You call me 'Ita-chan' and it makes you happy, doesn't it?" Elizabeta nodded, and the Italian smiled. "Then you should still call me that, since it makes you happy." There it was. The smile they've all been that whole time. However, this smile wasn't the same as before. It almost didn't seem as genuine as any of them had remembered. It was incomplete.

Kiku looked at the clock on the wall. "Lovino-san, we have to leave soon. Visiting hours are almost up." Lovino sighed. "Alright then. Feliciano, we'll be here tomorrow morning to pick you up, okay?" The younger one smiled. "Okay, then. It was really nice to see you guys." One by one, they left the room, Lovino being the last to leave. "Good night, Feliciano. Sweet dreams." "Good night. See you tomorrow!"

The moment Lovino closed the door, Elizabeta broke into tears. "Where's my Ita-chan?! Where is he?!" she cried over and over as Roderich held her. "How did this happen?" he asked. "The doctor said that we shouldn't be all that surprised by this," Francis replied, "but still, it's safe to say that we're all upset by this." Alfred held his hand to his chin. "But that still doesn't explain what happened. Even the doctors don't know the cause is."

"Well fuck all the doctors! If they can't even figure out what happened to my brother, they have no right to keept their title! They can all go to hell!" The older Italian clutched his head between his hands and sobbed. "I want my brother back! I don't care if he was an idiot! He was still my brother! I want him back now!" Francis put his hand on Lovino's shoulder. "Lovi, maybe we should go outside. We don't want to cause trouble for the other patients." Immediately, Lovino ran outside and started shouting in Italian. "Shouldn't we try to calm him down?" Kiku had asked. "No, it's best to let him get out his frustration now." Antonio replied. "After all, it must been really hard for him...to be the first to see Feli and to not be recognized by his own brother...I can't even imagine how he feels." Antonio then stared up at the night sky and smiled lightly. "Hm...I wonder if our little Feli is looking out the window. If he saw how beautiful the stars are, he'll probably say something like, 'Look! They look just like stelline*!'" The others laughed a little, amused by this small comment. "He'd probably boil some water and plan on making us eat some with him." said Francis. "Ano, everyone." Kiku said quietly, grabbing their attention. "How is this going to work out?"

"I'll tell you how it'll work out."

It was Lovino, who was done with his shouting. "Actually, Roderich, Elizabeta, I have a favor to ask of you." The Austrian smiled. "As I told you before, if you need anything, all you have to do is ask and we'll do our best to comply."

"Well, I was thinking," Lovino started,"...maybe it would be best if mi fratello stayed with you."

Everyone let out an "eh?!" Lovino sighed. "Not forever. Just for a week. I was thinking that maybe it would be good for him."

"You mean to help his regain some memories?" Kiku asked. "Yeah. After all, he spent most of his time with you two growing up. That way we can help him remember the past and work our way forward from there. Understand?"

"I see..." Roderich replied. "That's fine with me. Elizabeta?" The Hungarian nodded. "I'm fine with that too."

"Then it's settled. You'll take him in starting tomorrow. Now, I have to go make a phone call. Antonio, take Francis, Kiku and Alfred home. I'll be home later." With that Lovino went ahead of them. Antonio smiled, then looked up at the sky once more. _Dios mio, please watch over him and guide him back to his memories..._

.:Meanwhile:.

RING RING

"*yawn* Hn...who's calling the awesome me at this ungodly hour?"

"Gilbert? Is that you?"

"Huh? Who's this? Is it you, Feli?"

"No you idiot!"

"Oh, you're the other Vargas?"

"I have a name, dammit! Anyways, I wanted you to help me with something."

"Help? What can the awesome me do for you?"

"I'll give you the details as we go, but there's something I need you to do."

"Oh, this sounds interesting."

"Now, I want you to listen very carefully..."

* * *

*dobos- a hungarian cake...sponge cake covered in chocolate paste and glazed with caramel...it sounds and looks really good! XD

*stelline- star shaped pasta...if you don't believe me, just goole stelline pasta ;)

Sorry this was short, but I hope you enjoyed it so far. What does Lovi have in plan? One can only wonder


	5. Uchi no Naka ga Shitta

Chapter Five: In the House He Knew...

Feliciano gazed in amazement on how beautiful the house was. It was much bigger than he had ever expected. Once they passed through the front gate, the young Italian ran towards the flower filled garden. "Do you really live here?" he asked from a distance. "Yes, do you like it?" Elizabeta called from the front gate. "This place is really beautiful!" he replied as he spotted an orange butterfly. As it danced around in the air, Feliciano let his curiosity get the best of him and decided to follow it. "It's good to see that he's still as energetic as ever." said the Hungarian with a slight smile on her face. "Elizabeta," Roderich started, "I want you to take care of him for today." She paused and then looked up at him. "You mean you're not going to stay with us today?" The Austrian shook his head. "Just for a couple of hours. Lovino said that he wanted to discuss something with me in private, and he said it would take a while." Elizabeta gave him a worried look. "Is it about Ita-chan?" she asked. "I'm not entirely sure." he replied. He then looked over at Feliciano in the distance, who was still chasing the butterfly. "I just hope that it's nothing bad, for the boy's sake. Well,then, I'm on my way. Make sure to keep an eye on him. Ths last thing I need is for Lovino to be mad at me." Elizabeta smiled. "Of course I will. Take care and come back soon. Call me if you have to stay late." "Don't worry, I will." As Elizabeta watched Roderich walk away she couldn't help but feel worried. However, a tug on her sleeve snapped her back into reality. "Hm? What is it, Ita-chan?" She then heard his gurgling stomach and chuckled. "Let's go inside and eat something, okay?"

Elizabeta lead him inside the house, into hallways that had velvet carpeted floors and walls plastered with paintings. "These are amazing." Feliciano commented. As his eyes scanned the hallway, Elizabeta couldn't help but chuckle. '_He's still so adorable!' _she thought, '_He was like this the first time he came here too.'_ Elizabeta musings were cut short by the young Italian's curiosity. "Elizabeta, are we going to eat some pasta?" Shocked, Elizabeta turned around and looked at the Italian. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know why, but I was wondering if we were gonna eat pasta." Elizabeta started to feel nervous. However, this wasn't neccesarily a "bad nervous." He shot her a confused look. "Is something wrong?" The Hungarian shook her head. "No, it's just that..."

'_...that was the first thing you asked us when you came here...'_

Elizabeta cleared her throat. "I think there's still some spaghetti left over from last night. Would that be okay?" Feliciano smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Alright then. The dining room is right over there," said Elizabeta as she pointed to a door several rooms down the hallway. "You can go ahead and sit down at the table. I'll go get the spaghetti in the kitchen." Feliciano simply nodded and walked over to the dining room. Just like the rest of the house, the dining room was exceptoinally big. Feliciano could've sworn that room must've taken up half of the house. The carpet was red lined with an elaborate gold design. The walls were white and had beautifully crafted wooden frames. Across the room was a glass door that led to the garden and was framed with sky blue curtains, which illumintated the room. As he walked in, he noticed the long dining table to his right. The table was covered with an Egyptian cotton tablecloth and had placemates that matched seat covers for the chairs. However, once he turned to his left, he noticed that there was what seemed to be two comfortable white couchs facing each other along with two matching love seats which were also facing each other. Behind that was a black grand piano and a cushioned piano bench. He couldn't help but to walk over and take a closer look. As he got closer he realized that there was also a mahagony coffee table with a couple of thick books on them. He pick one up and brought it over to the dining table with him.

"Ita-chan, can you open the door? My hands are full." Elizabeta called from the hallway. Feliciano left the book-which was already open to the first page-on the table and opened the door. The Hungarian rushed in with a tray that contained two plates of spaghetti, two forks and some napkins. "Can you take this please? I didn't think it would be this heavy." Feliciano smiled. "Of course. After all, you're already doing so much for me." He happily took the tray as Elizabeta closed the door behind her. As she walked over to the dining table to take her seat, she noticed the book on the table. "Hm? Where did you find that?" she asked him. The Italian tensed up. "I'm sorry! I was just curious and I-" he was cut off by the Hungarian's laughter. "It's okay. No need to apologize. You can look through it if you want. But let's eat first, okay?" Feliciano nodded.

"So what has Lovino told you so far?" she asked as they began to eat. The Italian thought for a moment. "Well, other than my name, he told me that he's my older brother and that we're representatives for Itay. He also told me that Francis is my older brother, too, and that Antonio is a close friend of our." he paused for a moment and then continued. "Then he told me that Alfred became out friend not that long ago and that Kiku and I are really good friends. He also said that I have friends in other places too. Is that true, Elizabeta?" She couldn't help but smile at his cuteness. "Yes, that's right. You have a lot of people who love you , Ita-chan."

"Including you and Roderich?"

"Why, of course!"

"Yay! That makes me really happy!" the Italian gushed. As they continued eating, Elizabeta couldn't help but bring _it_ up. "Ita-chan, remember earlier in the hallway when you asked if we were going to eat pasta?" Feliciano nodded. "Well, guess what? You used to say that all the time. And the very first time you came to this house, the first thing you asked Roderich was, 'Will there be pasta for dinner?'" The Italian's face turned red. "I thought you were so cute! And you still are, too!"

"What else? I wanna know more!" he said excitedly. "Alright then," she started, "let's see...well, I do have a couple of short stories to tell you. When you were younger, your grandfather took you away so you could learn how to paint and sing. He was happy that you enjoyed the arts. After a while, you came back to us. You were so excited to meet your brothers. They picked on you a little, but that's just how siblings are. We lived to together for a while. And then...wait here for a moment. I'll be right back." Elizabeta got up and went out of the room for a while, only to come back with a big photo album. "Here we go, let's see..." She flipped through the pages of the dusty album, the Italian scanning each page. "There are many pictures of you and Roderich in here." the Italian commented. The Hungarian chuckled. "Well, of course there are. After all, I enjoy every moment with him." She sighed in content, and Feliciano couldn't help but smiled back at her. "You must really love him. Um...Elizabeta?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Um...I was wondering...did I have someone I love?"

Elizabeta smile quickly faded as she flipped through the album. "It's a sad story, but do you still want to hear it?"

The Italian thought for a moment. "Yes. It's my life, and I would like to know, no matter how sad the story is."

A sigh left Elizabeta's lips. "Alright. Roderich, you and I weren't the only ones living in this house. There was one other boy. His name was Holy Roman Empire. Now, I'll explain now that he didn't know you were a boy. Since Roderich also mistakened you for a girl, he would always have you take care of the house in a maid outfit. I found out you were a boy soon enough, but I thought it'd be best to keep it a secret. Anyways, You two always played together. However, Holy Roman Empire fell in love with you, and he always begged you to become one with him as one nation. But you see, after watching your grandfather suffer from becoming a great nation, you refused his offer. However, we all soon learned that Holy Roman Empire was going to on with his plans, you realized how important he was to you. As he was getting ready to leave, you stopped him and gave him a gift: your deck brush*. You told him to treasure it and to think of it as he would think of you. In return, he asked you what people in Italy give to their loved ones. You told him, 'a kiss,' and you can probably guess from there. He waved good bye and told you that he would come back after the war was over. You told him that you would be waiting with treats for him. However, he never came back. He became dissolved in the war..."

Elizabeta looked at Feliciano, who was staring solemnly at the at the ground. "He...he never came back?" he asked weakly. "I'm sorry, but the Holy Roman Empire you knew is long gone."

'_However...he's still around...he was always watching you...'_

"Thank you for telling me. At least now I feel a little better. But why did you keep the fact I was a boy a secret?"

"Oh, that's simple." the Hungarian said with a smile. "You were just too cute! I still remember when you tried on my traditional clothes! I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help it! Ah! Here it is!" Elizabeta pointed at some pictures in the photo album. Sure enough, she was right. There he was, dressed up in a green dress with a white apron. And in another picture, there he was in a black Hungarian dress. Feliciano had to admit, he was pretty damn cute. However, another picture had caught his attention. He saw himself standing next to a younger Elizabeta and Roderich, and someone wearing a black cape with a matching hat. His eyes were a piercing dark blue and his blonde hair was slicked back. "Elizabeta, who's this in the picture?" he asked.

"That's Holy Roman Empire. This picture was taken before he left for the war." the Hungarian explained.

The Italian paused, and then looked at Elizabeta. "Um...can I keep this picture?"

"Of course, dear. Go right ahead and take it."

"Thank you. Um, I'm feeling kind of tired."

Elizabeta looked at the time. "Well, it _is_ three o'clock after all. I guess you'll gain back your memories sometime soon." The Italian just gave her a confused look. "This was something you always did too. You always took a nap in the afternoon." the Hungarian explained as she got up. "Now, come along. I'll show you to your room. That way, you can get a nice rest."

* * *

*deck brush-uh...yeah, I decided to use the anime version instead of the manga since I think Italy would've been a little...shocked to find out he gave his "panties" away XD

Well, I hope you enjoyed this, since this will be the last chapter until friday. My mom's planning on hiding my laptop during the week due to low grades. But maybe I'll find a way to post more stories...anyways, until then. And by the way, tell your mom's that you love them. Kinda too late in the day, but Happy Mother's Day ;)


	6. Mayonaka no Inori

A/n: Sorry this took a while, kinda rushed, but oh well. Here we go! ^^

* * *

Chapter Six: Midnight Prayer

The day was long gone. After their nap, the Hungarian took the Italian out to play in the garden for a while and told him more stories before putting him to bed as the moon rose. A part of her remained awake, even though the sky was already blanketed with darkness. Her thoughts and emotions clouded her mind, making it nearly impossible to sleep. Not to mentioned that Roderich had never called her that whole day. How could she not worried? As she closed her eyes, she hoped that everything would be resolved peacefully. A faint smiled appeared on her lips and she quietly drifted off to sleep, hoping that someone could hear her prayers and answer them. Softly, her bedroom door creaked open, a small column of light illuminating the room. She could've sworn someone had come in and stroked her hair, but she was too tired to open her eyes to see who it was. And then she heard it. The gentle voice she's known all this time.

_"If you need to cry, go ahead and cry. I'll be here to hold you."_

Small, insignificant tears trailed down to her chin, only to have them wiped away by a warm hand followed by lips that brushed against her cheek. That was all Elizabeta could remember before she was finally lulled to sleep. That was all she needed to remember.

Morning. As her eyes fluttered open, the Hungarian couldn't help but feel a warm body next to her. She smiled and place her hand on her beloved's cheek. "Good morning," she whispered as she kissed his forehead. He groaned a little and rubbed his face against the pillow. Elizabeta couldn't help but laugh as he yawned. "Good morning," he replied sleepily. "What time did you come back?" she asked. Roderich rubbed his eyes and sat up in the bed. "I think it was sometime past midnight." He paused, and then lightly kissed Elizabeta. "I'm sorry I didn't call like I said I would." he said quietly. "As long as you're home now, I think I can forgive you," she replied, followed by a wink. Childishly, Roderich covered his face with his hand, trying to conceal his red cheeks.

"So what did Lovino want? Was it about Ita-chan?" Elizabeta asked quietly. Roderich sighed. "We were trying to figure out a way for Feliciano to regain his memories quicker. Lovino was saying that by surrounding him with things he likes and the people he knew, his memory would get better." Roderich paused and put his hand to his chin, deep in thought. "Anything else?"

"You're not going to believe this, but..."

"Hm? But what?"

"Lovino knows."

The Hungarian gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean he 'knows'?" Roderich then placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "He...he knows about-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The couple bolted out of their bed and followed the scream as it continued to echo throught the mansion. They found standing in front of the door that lead into their spare room, the room that Feliciano happened to be in. Elizabeta, without a sense of hesitation, swung open the door. "Ita-chan, what's going-"

The Hungarian was cut of by the sound of screams, which brought her and Roderich's attention to the t.v. screen and a trembling Feliciano who was hiding under the blanket. Roderich sighed and turned off the t.v. as Elizabeta went to calm down the frightened Italian. "Ita-chan, it's okay now. Roderich turned off the scary movie."

"Why were you watching such a movie so early in the day?" Roderich asked.

"B-because it was with the other ones..." Feliciano said, still under the blanket. "What do you mean?" The Italian then pointed to a stack a movies. "It was over there with the other ones, so I thought it was okay..."

Roderich went over and let out another sigh. "It's okay Elizabeta, he was just watching some of my musicals, that's all." He looked though the stack and realized that there was one case that was empty: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. As the Austrian went to retrieve the disc, Elizabeta patted Feliciano on the head. "You can come out now, dear." Slowly, the Italian found his way out of the blanket and into the Hungarian's arms. "I-it was a musical, so I didn't think it would be scary..." he sniffed. Roderich smiled. "Here, come with me. I think I have something that would make you feel better." As Roderich headed towards the door, Feliciano hesitated to follow. "Don't worry. This will make you feel better, I promise."

They followed him to the dining room, and Roderich lead them to the piano. "Please, have a seat." he said. He pulled out the piano bench and sat down as he revealed the black and white keys. His fingers elegantly traced over the keys, filling the room a soft tone*. Despite that the song was quiet, Feliciano still enjoyed the music and hummed along. However, at some point during the song, the Italian stopped humming and thought for a moment. _I've heard this before, haven't I?_ His mouth opened, and then words came out.

"Nee...n-n-nee...p-p-papa...w-wine...wo...c-c-choudai..*."

The Hungarian looked at him in awe. "Ita-chan...?" Roderich, who was paying well attention to what was happening, kept a calm composure. _'Please remember...remember everything...'_ he kept praying.

"...n-nee nee...m-m-mama..nee...nee...mama...! M-m-mukashi...n-ni t-tabeta...b-b-bolognese no ano...a-aji w-w-wasurenainda*...!"

Roderich ended the song, playing the last few notes as Elizabeta started to clap her hands. "Good job Ita-chan!"

"Um...I don't get it..." Feliciano mumbled.

"One day, when I was playing this song," said Roderich, "both Elizabeta and I could hear someone singing. And that person was you, Feliciano." Elizabeta smiled. "That was the day you grew up and became an adult. We were so happy that day." The Italian gave a confused looked, which turned into a smile. "Oh, that's right! Didn't you tell me that yesterday? Wasn't that the day Roderich found out that I was a boy?" The Austrian hid is face in his hand from embarrassment. "I wasn't the only one..." he mumbled as Elizabeta laughed. "Now, what does Ita-chan want to do today?" she said as she patted the Italian's head.

"I...I want to watch more of those musicals...the songs are so pretty! I can't help but want to hear more." Feliciano looked at the carpet. "Which ones did you watch already?" Roderich asked. The Italian searched his thoughts and put a finger to his chin as he gave a thoughful look. "Let's see...I watched The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, My Fair Lady, Singing in The Rain, Les Miserables..."

"Ita-chan, did you watch all of those this morning?" Elizabeta asked. "Hm...well, I woke up really early... and I just couldn't go back to sleep. I had this dream, and..." the Italian trailed off, lost in his thoughts. "Can you remember what your dream was about?" the Austian asked as he sat down next to Feliciano. "Well...in my dream, it was really foggy. I remember feeling sad because I was afraid that I would be all alone...but then, there was this person who said that no matter what, he'd be there for me! He said that whenever I'm in a pinch, he'll come and save me!" Feliciano exclaimed happily. Intruiged, Roderich couldn't help but ask the following question:

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

The Italian shook his head. "No, but I really wish I did. He seemed like a really interesting guy!" Roderich shot a look at Elizabeta, who only nodded back. "Ita-chan, today, you're going to spend the day with Roderich, okay?" said the Hungarian, who was now motivated to go see Lovino. "There's something very important that I have to do, so can you be a good boy for me?" Feliciano nodded. "Of course I will." Elizbeta smiled back. '_He's so precious._' she thought.

Half an hour later, as they were saying good bye to Elizabeta at the gate, Roderich couldn't help but silently wish for her safe return. "There's some food on the stove, so heat it up when you get hungry!" she called as she was already a distance away. Roderich then cupped his mouth with his hands. "Call me when you're coming back, okay?" he shouted. "Don't worry! I will!" He could trust her, right? Roderich's attention then turned to Feliciano, who was still waving his arm. "Feliciano, remember how you said that you wanted to watch more musicals? Which one did you have in mind?"

"Hm...well, there was one that looked interesting. I think it was called the King and I."

"Oh, yes. That's a really good one. Let's go inside and watch it, okay?"

_He will not always say what you would have him say..._

As they got near the midpoint of The King and I, Feliciano kept a tissue box close to him, his eyes welling up with tears. "I didn't think it would be this sad, but it's so beautiful at the same time..." Roderich sighed. _'First he was scared, now he's crying. What am I going to do with him?'_ he thought. But at the same time, Roderich knew that he could never leave him alone. He wouldn't do that. If he did, he'd be just like _him_. And that's the last thing Roderich wants. "Nee, Roderich, isn't this a beautiful story?" the Italian asked. The Austrian nodded. "Yes, it really is." he agreed.

By the time the movie ended, Feliciano was in tears. "I-I can't believe he just died that way! Just when she decided to stay there!" he sobbed. Roderich patted his back. "That's life Feliciano. People come and go all the time." The Italian rubbed his eyes. "Roderich, Elizabeta told me about him..." The Austrian was puzzled. "Who? Who did she tell you about?"

"Holy Roman Empire."

Roderich froze. "I-I have a question." said Feliciano. "Yes, what is it?"

"Did I cry like this when he died?"

This was very hard for Roderich to hear. Would he tell the Italian how heartbroken he was when Francis, his own brother, told him that his beloved Holy Roman Empire was killed by him? Or should he just spare him the bad memories? Roderich cleared his throat. "We all cried that day, Feliciano. But yes, you did cry a lot. And I understand that. If anything happened to Elizabeta...I wouldn't know what to do."

"You must love her a lot." Feliciano said with a smile. Roderich blushed. _He's so innocent..._he thought. "Um, did Elizabeta tell you anything else?" he asked. "Not really, but she told me stories on how I used to work here when I was younger and that I loved your music. She told me that I was good at painting and singing."

"Did she ever tell you about a man with blonde hair and blue eyes?" Roderich asked. "Isn't that Holy Roman Empire?" Feliciano asked, now confused. The Austrian shook his head. "Nevermind. It's not important."

_Ring ring. Ring ring._

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." said Roderich as he went to go answer the phone. Feliciano got up and put the disk back in it's case. He smiled to himself, happy that he got to spend time with Roderich. "I wonder...did I love anyone else..." he said to himself. Something in his heart had told him so, but his mind kept conflicting with his feelings.

_Did I even get over it?_

"Feliciano, there's some good news." Roderich said from the doorway. "Elizabeta's coming back with two of your friends, maybe three." Feliciano nodded. "Although, she said it would take them about an hour to get there anything you would like to do until then?" The Italian thought for a moment, and then yawned. "Actually, can I just take a nap? I'm feeling kinda sleepy." Roderich smiled. "Of course. I'll come and wake you up when they get here, okay?" With that Roderich left the room, closing the door behind him.

Foggy. The dreams were always foggy. There was so much fog that Feliciano couldn't even see his own hands in front of him. He could only hear a voice that gave him comfort, even though he never knew who it belonged to.

_"When the war's over, I'll come and visit you for sure."_

* * *

*Nee nee mama wine wo choudai. Nee nee mama nee nee mama mukashi ni tabeta bolognese no ano aji ga wasurenainda-This was in episode 48 where Roderich was playing Nocturne as Elizabeta listened. They were interupted by a younger Feliciano (chibitalia) singing this song (Marukaite Chikyuu for those who don't know, but you all do, right?). Idk, I just felt like putting this in XD

I hope you guys enjoyed this. It's gonna take a while for the next chapter (sorry!). Until next time =)


	7. Niwa no Tonari Ni

Chapter Seven: Next to the Garden

"Ita-chan, you remember Lovino, Kiku, Alfred and Antonio, right?" The Hungarian asked. The younger Italian nodded as he rubbed one eye, not fully awakened by his nap. "Tch, I don't see why Antonio had to come along." Lovino muttered. "Aw, I know you don't mean that." said Antonio as he pinched Lovino's cheeks. "Ano...Feliciano-kun, how are you feeling?" Kiku asked. Feliciano yawned. "I'm still a little sleepy, but I wanna play all day!" he exclaimed happily. The Austrian smiled. "Then what should we do first?"

"Let's all play in the garden! Let's play! Let's play!"

Elizabeta clapped her hands together and smiled. "I got it. Let's do some gardening!" All the boys-excluding Feliciano, who was still shouting "let's play"-gawked back at her. "C'mon, it'll be fun! And afterwards we can all watch a movie or something. What do you say?" Obviously excited, the young Italian was already in the garden. "C'mon slowpokes!" he shouted as he waved an arm. There was an awkward silence in the house, which was short lived by Antonio's laughter, which was also short lived due to Lovino smacking the back of his head. "What the hell's so damn funny?" Antonio clutched his stomach and started laughing even more. "He's just so cute! I can't help it! It's just so...precious!" The Spaniard then smiled playfully as he winked at Lovino and said, "But not as cute as you." The older Italian's face was a deep red as Alfred cleared his throat. "Alright, let Operation: Play With Feliciano begin! Elizabeta, where do you keep the gardening tools?"

"Oh, it's in the shed all the way over there." she said as she pointed outside. "Alright! Kiku, let's go!" He grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along, much to Kiku's protests. "Elizabeta, Roderich, thank you again for looking after my fratello." said Lovino as he watched Feliciano run around. "Even though his memories are gone, he's still the same person." he said with a small smile. "Of course he is!" Roderich exclaimed. "He'll always be Feliciano, no matter what!" The Hungarian placed her hand on Lovino's shoulder. "He'll always be a cheerful person. He might be a coward at times and run away, but as you can see...well, he's strong enough to be who he really is. He's-"

"-someone get help!" Roderich, Elizabeta, Lovino and Antonio's attention was drawn to the garden. As the penetrating silence grew, Lovino could feel his palms getting sweaty and Antonio noticed that he was breathing differently.

"Roderich! Call for an ambulance!" Alfred shouted. Roderich ran into the garden as Elizabeta followed him. Antonio stood his ground and stared at the trembling Lovino.

"Please stop, please stop, please stop, please stop!" Kiku cried. Roderich came running into the house with the others following and the younger Italian cradled in his arms. Antonio quickly got the phone as Lovino stood there watching. He watched as his younger brother writhed with pain, his body moving uncontrollably. Fear had consumed him, petrifying him. What was to become of his younger brother? As much as he was annoying, was Lovino really that annoyed to stand there and do nothing? But then what could Lovino do? He knew that he wasn't the person Feliciano wanted to be with. He knows that Feliciano would rather have a certain someone comfort him. But either way, they're still brothers, a bond that can't be easily broken. He should take care of whatever family he has left, shouldn't he?

"...and he just started having some sort of attack..." Alfred said, relaying the story to Gilbert and Francis. They were all sitting in the emergency room's waiting area. "I thought they said he was better," Francis muttered. Gilbert wanted to speak out, but changed his mind and kept to himself. These kinds of situations were awkward for him. Never before did he worry like this. Maybe for his brother, but that was only a few times. And the fact that Lovino kept glaring at him the entire time didn't help him at all. "If you were going to be this bothered by the awesome me's presence, you shouldn't have called," said Gilbert with an annoyed tone. Lovino sighed. "I don't mean it. It's just that, well, erm..."

"I'm not my brother."

The older Italian then facepalmed. "I know!" he shouted angrily. "...I know...I'm sorry. It's just that my little brother's in there and it's-"

"-all Ludwig's fault?" Gilbert finished for him. Lovino could only nod. "Mon cher, don't be so tense." said Francis. "What will our precious brother think when he comes out of the hosptial? We can't ruin the plan. This is the only way."

"Francis is right," Roderich remarked. "As much as we're all angry at Ludwig-"

"-the awesome me included-" Gilbert cut in. Roderich sighed and continued. "As angry as we are, we have to let go of it for Feliciano's sake. You of all people should know what he wants. We can't let the past haunt us forever."

"Excuse me, Lovino Vargas?" the doctor asked as he walked into the waiting area. "Yes? What is it? Is my brother okay?" Lovino said immediately. "Yes, he's fine. What caused his muscle spasms was a bacterial infection. It seems that his primary care doctor didn't clean his wound properly, causing bacteria to enter his body. However, we've cleaned up as much as possible and we suggest that you clean his cut before and after every bath in order to prevent an even more serious situation."

"Will he have to stay overnight?" Kiku asked.

"No, he'll be ready to leave in about 15 minutes or so." Elizabeta let out a sigh. "Thank goodness." The doctor gave Lovino a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. As long as you keep the wound clean, he won't have anymore problems like this. The receptionist will page you so that you can pick him up from the patient information desk. I'll also give you two perscriptions. One is a protection ointment to keep bacteria out and the other is a cream that will help the wound heal faster." The doctor then wrote all of this down on his notepad. Afterwards, he tore off the perscription and handed it to Lovino. "If there's anything else you might need, ask the receptionist for Dr. Luciano. Now, if you'll excuse me." As the doctor left, everyone sighed with relief. "Isn't that great? At least he can come back with us." said Antonio. "Yeah, that's great. It's just great..."

"What's wrong?" Gilbert asked the older Italian. "Nothing, it's just that..." he turned to Roderich. "Do you guys mind if I stay over for the night? After seeing him like this for the second time I..." Roderich had stared at Lovino for a moment, noting how bothered he was by this situation and forced himself to smile. "I understand. But...does that mean we're going on with the plan early?"

Lovino put his hand to his chin and stared at the ground, avoiding any eye contact. "Well, I guess we have no choice in the matter, do we? As much as I hate him*, this is the best for my brother. Roderich cleared his throat. "Alright, everyone. You heard him. Do you all remember your assigned roles?"

"Yes, sir!" Alfred said as he shot up and saluted. "Every hero knows what he should do!"

"Um...I'll make sure he doesn't go overboard." said Kiku calmly.

"I'll help my brother as much as possible!" Francis exclaimed.

"But there's one thing the awesome me has in mind," said Gilbert, "how are the others going to help when they don't know anything?"

"Roderich and I can handle that." Elizabeta answered curtly. She then walked towards the red eyed man and poked at his chest rather hard and glared at him. "If you mess up on your part and make it worse, you can bet that I'll turn your life into a living hell."

"W-w-wait a sec! What if the awesome me doesn't mess up?" Gilbert spat out. "I'll think about it." The Hungarian replied.

"Then it's settled. We'll go though with the plan starting tomorrow. Now, let's go to patient information and wait for him."

* * *

*Guess who ;P

Um, yeah XD Sorry for rushing this one and taking a long time. My teachers are killing me with projects and finals are coming up T-T

Anyways, thank you so much for reading this. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. By the way I fandubbed Italy's Song "Let's Boil Hot Water!" and posted it on youtube. Just type in my user name: TheNobodyofNamine and look for it in my videos. I'm gonna put up my cover of Japan's song, "Osoreirimasu, Sumimasen" in a couple of minutes after I post this (right now it's about 8:30 p.m.). Thanks alot, love you guys! 3


	8. Soshite, Futari wa Mou Ichido Deatta

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! I've had finals for the past two week, so I've been studying like crazy. I kinda rushed this, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

* * *

Chapter 8: And So They Meet Once Again

"Lovino, where are we going?" Feliciano asked, clutching onto his brother's arm as they walked along the road. As if it wasn't already hard for Lovino to carry his brother's backpack full of clothes, but he had to drag him along as well? But the elder had no choice in the matter. "I told you, we're going to Gilbert's house. He's that guy you met yesterday, remember?" The younger Italian gave him a confused look and cocked his head to one side. "Do you mean the guy who had red eyes and white hair? The one who kept saying 'awesome?'" Lovino rolled his eyes at the memory of it. "Yes, Feliciano. That's the guy."

"Oh, okay. He seemed like a fun person, and he was really nice to me! When we got home, he played with me in the garden, even when you and everyone else told us it was time to sleep! It was really fun!" Lovino gave him a smile. "I'm glad you were able to have fun."

"But why do I have to stay at his house now? I was having fun with Elizabeta and Roderich..." The older Italian sighed. "I know, I know. But Gilbert wanted to spend time with you, too. But I'll warn you now..." Lost in his thoughts about _him_, Lovino carefully thought about what he should say. "Gilbert has a younger brother." Feliciano's eyes widened with excitement as an ear to ear grin found its way to his face. "Really? What's his name and what's he like?" _Should I really tell him now?_ Lovino asked himself as he mentally facepalmed. He sighed deeply, searching for the right words. "His name is Ludwig, and well...he's basically the opposite of Gilbert. He's fairly strict, like he has a stick up his ass or something. He's strong and he's always busy, so whatever you do, don't bother him." The younger one frowned. "Aw, I wanted to make another friend...ne, fratello, was Ludwig my friend before? Y'know, like how Kiku and Gilbert were my friends before?"

"You can say that," replied the elder, looking away from his brother. _If only you remembered at least half of it..._Lovino scratched his head. "Well, I'm not sure if 'friends' is the right word to describe it. You guys worked together for a while so..."

"You mean like co-workers?"

"I guess. Look, we're almost there. See that blue house over there?"

Feliciano squinted his eyes. They were still a while's away from the house, but it was big enough to be seen from a distance. There were few houses where they were. They've probably only passed by a few shops and maybe two groccery markets. However, such a small city captivated the young Italian. "Ne, fratello. I think I might like it here. It seems peaceful."

_"Tch, that's what you think."_

At least, that's what Lovino wanted to say. But he didn't really have a choice, did he? "Yeah," he replied, "it does seem nice, doesn't it?" He faked a smile for his brother. And then, a voice. "Feli! Lovi! Glad you could make it!" Gilbert waved from the front door. "I wish he would stop calling me that," Lovino muttered as Feliciano laughed. "Lighten up, fratello! You need to have more fun!"

"I-I guess so..."

"Good afternoon Gilbert!" Feliciano said happily. "How's it going Feli? Aren't you excited to stay with the awesome me?" He constantly patted the younger one on the head, much to Lovino's annoyance. "We're gonna have so much fun! We'll stay up late and watch movies, play all night and sleep in. Doesn't that sound good? Kesesese~!"

"Erm...just don't go overboard and tire him out, okay?"

"Don't worry! The awesome me will take care of Feli no matter what! Now, let's go inside!" Right as he was about to step into the house, Lovino grabbed Gilbert by his shirt collar. "Is _he_ here?" he whispered harshly through his teeth. "Nah, West went to work and won't be back until five o'clock. We still have about three hours." The Italian then let released him and cleared his throat. "I'll be taking my leave now. If you need something, don't hesitate to call me." The Feliciano frowned and walked up to his brother. "I'll call you tonight anyways to wish you sweet dreams, so pick up the phone, okay?" Lovino couldn't help but smile and place his hand on his brother's head. "Don't worry, I'll pick up. And if I don't answer, that means I'm over at Roderich and Elizabeta's house. So call their house if you need me. Just ask Gilbert for the number. Don't tire yourself out too much, okay? And don't forget to take a bath after dinner. I'll see you soon."

"Bye fratello! Have a safe trip home!" Feliciano said loudly as he waved. As soon as his brother went beyond the horizon, Gilbert closed the door. "So Feli, what do you wanna do first? We can play a game or something."

"Sure, let's play-aaah!"

The Italian was interrupted by something warm and wet that brushed against his hand. He looked down and found a golden retriever sitting beside him. "Aw, aren't you a cute dog." he said as he knelt down and patted the dog on its head. "Ne, Gilbert, what's his

name?"

"Hn? Oh, that's Aster. He's one of West's dogs."

"West? Who's that?" the confused Italian asked. "Do you mean Ludwig?"

"Yeah. But how do you know?" Gilbert asked in response. "Oh, fratello told me about him. He said not to bother him too much. Ne, Gilbert~. Does he really have a stick up his ass or something?" The older man gave this some thought, scratching his head. He then turned from being thoughtful and snorted, which of course, turned itself into laughter. "Hahahaha! What...in the world...gave...you...that idea?" Gilbert said in between laughs. He then clutched his stomach with one hand and placed the other one on a nearby table. "But...now that I think about it...it's probably true!"

Not knowing what was happening, the Italian just smiled away. '_I guess Ludwig can't be that bad if Gilbert can laugh at him.'_ "Ne, Gilbert, you said that Aster was one of Ludwig's dogs? Does that mean he have more? I wanna play with them!" After he was done laughing, Gilbert wiped away his tears of laughter. "Sure thing, Feli. They're outside in the backyard." Gilbert noticed that he was talking to himself and looked all around him. _'Where did he...?'_

"Waahh! Hey! Stop that! It tickles!"

Gilbert dashed around the house and saw that the back door was open. From where he stood, he saw the Italian playing with the other two dogs, Blackie and Berlitz. He was on the ground laughing innocently as the two dogs continued to lick his face. The older man smiled, and then looked into the hallway. His eyes were fixed on a black door, as if he wanted to go inside. He let out a sigh to go inside the room. The moment the door was slightly open, a stong smell a beer escaped the room. Gilbert opened the door all the way and turned on the lights. He could barely see the floor, and saw what looked like a bed. But how could he tell when the room was? Bottles and cans of beer were scattered all over the room. Gilbert placed his hands on his hips as he sighed in disbelief. "He needs to get his act together."

"Gilbert! When are we gonna eat dinner?" Feliciano shouted from the backyard. "Give me a minute!" the older man shouted back. "I can't let him see this," he said quietly to himself as he grabbed some empty cans and put them in the trash. "Are we gonna eat pasta?" the Italian man shouted. "We can have whatever you want!" he shouted back in response. "We can have whatever you want..." he repeated, this time, quietly to himself.

Ludwig had a rough day at the office. At first, he was late because of a change in bus routes. Then, his boss starts to lecture him nonstop about the other nations, followed by him giving Ludwig an insane amount of work that was to be done in a short amount of time. He managed to get through most of it, however the stress was getting to him. But that's something a beer could fix. He then looked at his watch. _'It's only 4:37. I guess I'm home a little early.' _The moment he got home, he noticed a note on the front door. It read, "Hey West! I'll be out for a moment. We ran out of some grocceries and beer. Be back soon. -East" He groped for his keys that were buried deep in his pockets. Once they were out, they fumbled around, a contribution from Ludwig's sleepiness. He finally got the door opened with his dogs there to greet him. He smiled for a moment, patting each one on the head. But his smile disappeared once he noticed something that was off. The three of them aren't suppose to be in the house until Ludwig got home. That was one of the crazy rules he made up when he was drunk, however, Gilbert obliged. So then...?

"Ve...ve...ve..."

_That sound, _he thought. _It can't be..._The German listened closely for the soft sound again. "Ve...ve..." He followed its echoes around for a moment to discover that it was coming from the living room. However, no one was in sight. It seemed empty, but Ludwig could still hear _that_ sound. And then he found it. Or rather, he found _him_. He body stiffened, unable to move momentarily. His crystal eyes observed the Italian who had decided to sleep on the couch. There were a million questions running through the German's mind, but the one question that kept repeating itself was, _'Of all places, why the fuck is he here?'_ Ludwig facepalmed, trying to think of something he could do to fix his "dilemma". He finally got the courage and sat down next to the sleeping man. He let his hand brush the brown strands of hair away from Feliciano's face, only to end up grabbing his shoulders. "Feliciano, wake up." he said almost harshly. He shook the Italian lightly, but gradually shook him harder. "Wake up already," he said loudly. Feliciano yawned as his eyes fluttered open. As he rubbed one eye, the German cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?" Feliciano yawned again, then looked at Ludwig. He stared at the blonde for a while, much the German's annoyance. "I'll ask you one more time, what are you-"

"-um, who are you?"

_Who are you? _Those words echoed in Ludwig's mind. He scoffed, then stood up. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I don't want any part of it. I want you out of this house. Now." However, Feliciano ignored him, sat up and looked around. "Um, excuse me, where's Gilbert? Did he come back from the store yet? He said he was-"

"-I'm aware of where he is right now," the German said. Feliciano smiled. "Ve~ That's good! Oh, how rude of me! My name is Feliciano. What's your name?" _You have got to be kidding me,_ Ludwig thought. "Feliciano, I'm not in the mood for games. So get out of this house already." The Italian gave him a thoughtful look. "I'm not playing though...wait, are you Ludwig? My fratello and Gilbert talked about you! So did Roderich and Elizabeta."

"..." The German was speechless. _This all doesn't make sense at all. Is this just some twisted nightmare?_ He thought. _Yeah, maybe I fell asleep at work or something. Or maybe my water was spiked and I'm just halucinating. _

"Feli! I'm home!"

It was Gilbert. "Hey Feli, you think you can grab some of this?" He held out a bag. "Kesesese, I guess I went a little overboard today." Feliciano was obedient and took several bags from the older man. "Ne, this is heavy Gilbert. What did you buy?" he said as he carried them to the counter. "Oh, you must've gotten the beers. West loves drinking, and he's been so tense lately."

"Like I am now?"

"Yeah, like you are-West?" Gilbert fumbled the bags in his hands. "Wah! Gilbert, let me help you with that!" the Italian said has he ran over to the older man and grabbed the rest of the bags. Gilbert remained standing, his mouth wide open. "W-w-west, when did you get home? I can explain-"

"You're damn right you're gonna explain!" the German shouted back. Gilbert smoothed his hair back and released a sigh as he shook his head. "Feli, go into your room for now. I'll let you know if I need help, okay?" The Italian smiled. "Okay. Can I read the books that are in there?" The older man thought for a moment, thinking of whether or not those books were Ludwig's war history or his "special time" books. "Uh...go ahead. But if the books have a red sticker, don't read them, okay?" Feliciano nodded and went off to the room. Once the two brothers heard the door closed, the yelling began.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT PASTA FREAK DOING HERE?"

"Calm down West! Just let me explain! I told Lovino and Roderich that it was okay for him to come over."

"_Schweinebacke_*! After everything that's happened, you do this?"

"Goddammit, West, listen to me!"

"You're lucky that I didn't strangle that _blode fotze*_ yet!"

At this point in time, something inside Gilbert snapped. He dashed in front of his younger brother and grabbed him by the collar with rage in his eyes. "You go as far as to put a scratch on that boy, all I won't hesitate to kill you. And neither will Roderich and Lovino." Gilbert gained a tighter grip and Ludiwg stiffened under his grasp. "Now, listen closely to your _bruder_. Feli lost his memories due to a little accident. He's already been with Elizaveta and Roderich, so I asked Lovino if I could have my turn with him. He's only staying for a couple of days, got it? Just bear with it until he goes back to Lovino. Then we can all put this behind us." The blonde glared back at him. "You better be right about that." Gilbert then loosened his grip. "You have to be so goddamn stubborn, don't you West?"

"Whatever." Ludwig muttered as he unbuttoned his shirt. "I'm going to take a shower and take nap. Wake me up in an hour."

"Fine. We're gonna have sauerbraten* around 6:30, okay?" Gilbert announced as he started unpacking they groccery bags. "Just one question," Ludwig said right before he headed for the bathroom. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Is _he_ gonna eat at the table with you?"

"I believe so. Why?"

The blonde man thought for a moment, then headed to the bathroom. "I guess I'll be eating inside my room then."

* * *

Schweinebacke-double crosser/backstabber

blode fotze-stupid cunt

sauerbraten-a pot roast marinated in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings

A/N: Again, sorry for the delay. For those who are Doitsu fangirls (myself included), sorry I had to make him such an asshole. But don't worry, it won't last long...or will it?

By the way, I passed my final (just saw the results, now it's 10:03 p.m.) It was modern world, and I studied by watching hetalia and reading some fanfics :D I hope you guy enjoyed this chapter. Until next time. See you then.


	9. Hi no Owari E Akai Souzou

A/N: Sorry this took so long you guys! With summer school (and my short attention span) I was losing track of the story. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it. Oh, and can you please check out my piano cover? Funimation now owns rights to Hetalia and made a trailer for it. Out of boredom, I made a piano cover for it. It's under my channel (just look up TheNobodyofNamine on youtube, it's the video with chibitalia and holy roman empire 3). Okay, enough advertising and on with the story ^-^

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Chapter Nine: To the End of the Day, A Red Imagination

Yesterday had been a blur. At least, Ludwig tried his best to get rid of his memory of the previous day by drinking himself half blind. When he woke up the following morning, he was greeted by one of man's mortal enemies: the hangover. The room was still somewhat dark, with the sunlight filtering through the curtains. The blonde man stared at his alarm clock. _8:23...mein gott, what day is it?_ he thought. His hand found its way to his forehead and smoothed his hair back as he furrowed his eyebrows. He remembered going to work, his crazy boss giving him a lot of work, and then, he remembered a surprise. However, this "surprise" didn't set well with Ludwig. But because of his hangover, he couldn't quite remember last night all that well. There was one question he had: _Why...why was I so angry last night?_

"Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The German winced at the scream. _Oh yeah, that's why. Why the hell is he screaming so loud in the morning?_ Ludwig decided to ignore the screaming Italian. That is, until he bursted into his room. "Luwig! Ludwig! Where's Gilbert? I can't find him!" Feliciano said in between sobs. _He's crying just for that?_ "Just shut up! He's probably in the backyard or something!" Ludwig yelled back. Maybe if he wasn't so angry, Ludwig would've seen how afraid the Italian was of him. Trembling, Feliciano left Ludwig's room and went back to his. As he shut the door behind him, he started to cry even more. _He's so mean and scary! I want Gilbert to be here to protect me! I can't even call fratello since Gilbert has his number! I'm afraid to ask Ludwig!_ The Italian held his head between his hands as he heard the German shouting at him again. "Shut up already! Shut up or get out!"

_I do wanna leave,_ Feliciano thought. _But where am I gonna go? I don't know how to get to Roderich's house or fratello's house on my own...but at the same time..._Feliciano shuffled to a small dresser next to his bed. On top was the picture Elizabeta had given to him. Some memories came back, but those memories were still too distant for Feliciano to recognize. All he could remember was the happiness he felt whenever he was with his loved ones. _I wonder...they look so much alike...are they the same person...? I want to know...I want to ask._ Feliciano held the picture close to him as he laid down on top of the bed. He closed his eyes and was lulled back to sleep by his own longing for old memories.

Now, after an hour or so when Ludwig had calmed down a little, he wandered to the kitchen to get a glass of cold water. He noticed that it was far too quiet in the house. "Bruder?" he said loudly. No answer. Usually, the blonde found himself waking up to his brother playing with the dogs or watching some war movie. But not today. Ludwig looked around, trying to find any trace of Gilbert, but to no avail. At least, until he saw a piece of paper stuck onto Gilbert's bedroom door. "What the hell..." the German muttered to himself.

_Bruder,_

_If it took you a long time to find this, I have to say that you should know to check my room first if I ever go out._

The German rolled his eyes at this and continued reading.

_The damned aristocrat called me up early this morning and called for an emergency meeting between us and a couple of other nations. I told him that if you were needed that I would just relay everything back to you. I have no idea how long this meeting will be, but I'm sure I'll be home soon. Until then, take care of Feli. Don't leave him alone, as his memories haven't fully returned yet. Anyways, just watch over him. You don't even have to talk to him if you don't want to. Just keep him safe. I'll call and let you know when I'm coming back. There's hash on the stove, so heat it up when you get hungry._

_-Gilbert_

_P.S. Just bear with it for now. I'll treat you to a round of beer at the bar if you do. So try to get along with him, okay?_

Ludwig facepalmed and let out a heavy sigh. _Goddammit..._He then noticed that the Italian's door was slightly ajar. He peered through to find the young man reading a book. Feliciano then looked at him and trembled. "L-l-ludwig! I-I-I'm...I-I'm j-just..." Feliciano could barely get a word out and his stuttering had gotten even worse as the German entered the room. "Hey, I'm only gonna-"

"Wah! I'm sorry Luwig!"

_What?_

"M-my fratello...he told me not to bother you, but I feel like that's all I've been doing!" the Italian looked down at the book, smoothing his hand over the pages. "According to these books, you helped me a lot before, haven't you?" Ludwig gave him an annoyed look, then turned away. "Yeah, I did." Feliciano smiled. "So I was kinda right! You're not so scary after all!" Ludwig coughed. "Whatever," he mumbled. "Anyway, Gilbert went to a meeting with Roderich and a few other people. He won't be back for a while. So until then, just do whatever. I have a lot of work to do, so I'll be in my room. Don't bother me unless you're dying, got it?"

"Ve~But later can we play? I wanna play soccer!"

"...no. But you can go ahead and play with Aster, Berlitz and Blackie. If you're hungry, go ahead and eat. Gilbert left some food. Don't do anything troublesome." As the German was about to let the room, he felt something tug at his arm. "Ne, Ludwig. I just wanna say...even if I don't remember, thank you for helping me before." Ludwig shook him off and went back to his room. _Fuck..._he thought as he closed the door, then leaning against it. _Memories or no memories...he's the same person. How troublesome..._He then glanced over at his desk, which was cluttered with papers and files. "I might as well get started now."

_What to do, what to do?_ Feliciano asked himself as he finished reading the last book in the room. _I could ask Ludwig if there's more books but..._He shook his head and checked the time. _Wah...it's only noon..._He had already eaten, played with the dogs and read all the books in his room. So now what? The Italian searched through his bag that his brother had left with him and pulled out a sketchbook and some pencils. Now, what to draw. He flipped open to a fresh page and started outlining. However, he had no idea what he was about to draw. He let his pencil do all the work with his emotions as a guide. He started to hum a sweet melody, something he heard Antonio sing.

~Two days ago~

"Dammit Antonio, are you going to help us pack his stuff or not?" Lovino yelled as he helped Feliciano put some clothes in his backpack. The other man chuckled. "Paciencias, mi amore*. Un momento por favor." Antonio was cooking their lunch in Roderich's house, with Elizabeta's permission, and was still making a seafood broth for paella. "That smells wonderful!" Elizabeta exclaimed as she and Roderich came back from the study. "Feliciano," Roderich said, "Elizabeta and I have something for you." The younger Italian's eyes lit up. "What is it?" The Hungarian laughed lightly. "Here, we found this and we want you to have it." She held out what seemed like a new sketchbook and some drawing pencils. "Thank you! I love it!" The Italian said as he hugged both of them. "I-it's no problem," Roderich said quietly as he blushed. However, their "moment" was ruined by whistling.

"Oh god, Antonio, not _that_ song again!" Lovino said with annoyance. "It's bad enough you made me learn it word for word!" If only he hadn't said that...

"Como aves precursoras de primavera~*"

"Oh god, stop it dammit!" Lovino begged. "Roderich, talk some sense into him! Make him shut up!" Roderich chuckled and crossed his arms. "Sorry, but as a fan of music, I can't say no."

~End flashback~

Feliciano recalled how pretty he thought the song was. The accordion starts it off, beginning the dance alone. Along the way, however, a guitar appeared and harmonized with the accordion as they went along with the song. The Italian was now inspired, and knew exactly what to draw. His eyes scanned the set of pencils until he chose a couple of colors that he thought would suit the picture he had in mind. "Hm...red seems like the best color..." Once he picked out everything, he let his imagination take over. Before he knew it, he started to sing.

_Como aves precursoras de primavera,_

_en Madrid aparecen las violeteras._

_Que pregonando, parecen golondrinas_

_Que van piando, que van piando._

In his mind, he kept picturing something. But what it was, he couldn't tell. Two people eating dinner, a beautiful restaurant, but what stood out was a ring and flowers. A dream? A date? It was still something too distant to remember, but the thought of such a place made Feliciano happy. He heard voices, but never knew who they belonged to. He saw faces, but not enough to fully recognize.

_Llévelo usted señorito  
que no vale mas que un real  
cómpreme usted este ramito  
cómpreme usted este ramito,  
pa' lucirlo en el ojal._

He stared at the picture when he was done. _Elizabeta was right, I __**am**__ good at drawing._ It was a night scene. The sky was a deep blue with small white spots. The moon was to the right, in full bloom. It was a small balcony with an open window. There must've been a breeze since the curtains flipped up. Through the window was a young girl. She had long ebony hair that reached her hips. She wore a simple, red satin dress and sported burgundy stilettos. Her back faced everything. Everything except for a boy. He wore a black tuxedo with a wine red shirt and held out a bouquet of white roses.

_Son sus ojos alegres su faz risueña,  
lo que se dice un tipo de madrileña,  
neta y castiza... y que si entorna los ojos  
te cauteriza, te cauteriza._

Red. It was such a beautiful color to Feliciano. He loved how it calmed him down and made him feel safe. And somehow, at the same, it made him feel afraid. Red could mean roses, red could mean love. But red also represents blood and anger. He loved the color red. But because of which meaning? At this point, it didn't matter. All he wanted was to be absorbed in red, like the girl in the picture.

_Llévelo usted señorito  
que no vale mas que un real  
cómpreme usted este ramito  
cómpreme usted este ramito,  
pa' lucirlo en el ojal._

_I wish I could remember everything,_ Feliciano thought to himself. He stared at the picture again. "Were me and Holy Roman Empire like this?" he asked out loud. Of course, there would be no one to answer him. He leaned against the bookshelf and looked at the ceiling. His eyes slowly started to close as he imagined a large ballroom with the only light coming from the lanterns outside. However, since there were several chandeliers, the largest one being in the center of the cieling, the lantern's light hit the glass shards, making it look like there were orbs of light throughout the room. There was an quartet composed of a viola, violin, cello and a harpsichord. It was a masquerade, full of masks, ballgowns and tuxedos. Feliciano imagined himself sitting against the wall, being a total wallflower. He imagined that he must've gotten up several times to get some wine. Other than that, he had just been sitting there, waiting. Then suddenly, a hand appeared in front of him invitingly, begging him to dance along.

* * *

When Ludwig woke up, he realized that several hours had sun was now high in the sky, and it was warmer than when he had first woken up. He was done with his work for the most part, so now all he had to do was send his files to his boss. The blonde got up from his desk to strech out a little and headed for the kitchen in search of something to eat.

"Hn? Hello?"

"West! Sorry I had to leave suddenly. I guess I'm so awesome that Roderich wanted to meet with me, kesesese!" Ludwig rolled his eyes. "So is Feli still alive? You haven't done anything like I asked, right?"

"Yes, bruder, he's still alive. He's probably sleeping. Anyway, when are you coming home?"

"Uh, about that...there are still a couple of issues that I have to work out with Roderich."

"Bruder..."

Gilbert pulled the phone away from his ears as Ludwig began to scream over the phone. "I told you he'd be pissed," Gilbert muttered to Roderich, who was sitting down alongside Lovino, Elizabeta, Francis and Kiku. "Alright, alright, alright!" Gilbert shouted over the phone as Lovino frowed. "Just hurry up!" he said, only to be shushed by Elizabeta. "Yeah, I'll call again and let you know. Bye West. See you soon." Gilbert hung up the phone, turning to everyone else. "We'll that could've been a whole lot better." Francis commented. "Anyways, what did he say?" Roderich asked. The other man scratched his head. "West was pretty upset, so I just did what I always do and bribed him with more beer. But more importantly, how much longer is this going to take?"

"Gilbert has a point, mon cher. We can't keep this little plan of ours going on forever."

"We know that, you damn bastard." said Lovino. "It won't take that much longer. Once that potato bastard-no offence, Gilbert."

"None taken."

"Anyways, until he realizes _that_, we'll just have to wait and see."

"I have a question," said Elizabeta. "Lovino, how long have you known?" The room grew silent. "She's right mon cher. I understand how she, Roderich and Gilbert know, but how do _you_ know?" Kiku raised his hand. "Sorry, but I think I missed something here. What exactly are you implying Francis-san?"

"I'll explain it," Lovino replied. "You see, Kiku, this goes back really far. The reason you don't know is because you didn't grow up with us. In this house is a lot of memories for my brother. He grew up under the care of Elizabeta, Roderich and..." The Italian stopped for a moment, deep in thought. "I'll take it from here," said Roderich. "Let's see...all of this started when Elizabeta and I were under the control of someone known as the Holy Roman Empire."

"Ah, I've heard about him before. Feliciano-kun had mentioned him once."

"Well then, do you know what Holy Roman Empire meant to him?" the Austrian asked. Kiku nodded. "Yes, he was more than a dear friend. He was Feliciano-kun's first love, right?" Everyone else nodded. Francis shook his head and looked at the floor. "The Holy Roman Empire...everytime I hear that name and think of my little brother, I can't help but feel so guilty..."

"We should all feel guilty at this point," Gilbert said. "After all, we all kept it a secret from Feli." Kiku shook his head. "Just what are you talking about?"

"You see, even though Holy Roman Empire was broken up, a part of him is still alive." Gilbert explained. "What's left of Holy Roman Empire...became who we've all come to know as my brother, Ludwig. But because of the trauma of the war, Ludwig forgot everything." The red eyed man paused, remembering when he found the small boy. It was raining, and the little boy was so lost and confused. His black clothes were now stained with earth. And with blood. His eyes were no longer dark and cold like they used to be. Now, they were much lighter, but the coldness still remained. Looking at his hand, Gilbert imagined remembered the small hands that he used to hold on to. But after realizing that he was beginning to wander in his memeories, Gilbert cleared his throat and continued. "I hate seeing both of them so distant now when they were so close back then. And now...Feli lost his memories too. That's why we're gonna help them, right Lovino?" The Italian shrugged. "I want to help my fratello. But can I count on _him_ to remember it? I'm only doing this because it's safe to say that out of all of us here, he's the one who deserves to be happy." _My stupid fratello...is the __**only**__ one who deserves to be happy..._

Roderich gave the Italian a comforting smile. "I'm sure that we all agree with you, Lovino."

* * *

When Feliciano woke up, all he could smell was a strong scent of beer. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision still blurry. As it began to clear, Feliciano saw those sharp crystal eyes staring back at him. "Ludwig..." he mumbled, overpowered by the smell of beer. The blonde appeared to be breathing heavily, his cheeks painted red. "Luwig..." he whimpered, "you're starting to scare me..." Feliciano tried to back up, only to remember that he was leaning against the wall. They're faces were barely an inch apart. "Kiss me," Ludwig said, his voice nearly a whisper.

_What?_

"L-ludwig, what do you-"

Ludwig pinned him against the wall, silencing the Italian with his own lips. As he began to close his eyes, Feliciano's were left wide open.

* * *

A/N:

Didn't expect that, did you? ;P

*Paciencias, mi amore-paitence, my love

*Un momento por favor-one moment please

*a line from a song called "La Violetera" sung by Sara Montiel, made famous by Nana Mouskouri. Actually, the sections in italics are lyrics to the song, which is, if you haven't already guessed, in Spanish. Well, Spain _was _the one who was singing this. I tried my best to translate it, so don't be surprised if there are some mistakes =.=

_Like the precursory birds in spring,_

_The woman who is selling violets(flowers) appeared._

_What a proclamation, they appear like birds_

_They're chirping, they're chirping._

_You took it, young man_

_It's worth no more than a peso(type of currency)_

_You bought me a bouquet,_

_You bought me a bouquet_

_And pinned a flower on your shirt._

_Your eyes brighten up and you smile._

_People say that a type of person from Madrid(I was confused on how to translate this line)_

_So clear and pure...and it leaves your eyes open_

_You marked it, You marked it_

_You took it, young man_

_It's worth no more than a peso_

_You bought me a bouquet,_

_You bought me a bouquet,_

_And pinned a flower on your shirt._

_You bought me a bouquet_

_You bought me a bouquet_

_And pinned a flower on your shirt._

To be honest, I was thinking about the Buono San Valentino comic strips when editing the english translation of the song, since Germany did buy Italy a bouquet and everything. Just letting you guys know, so you won't be left wondering "why the hell did she pick that song?" Sorry if the chapter was a little all over the place and kinda random, but I figured that Italy would think of random things to replace the memories he lost. Eh, don't worry, everything will make sense soon :D

And as for how Romano found out about Holy Roman Empire's survival is yet to be revealed. And how I ended the chapter...you'll see ;) sorry to those angry for the cliffie I left there. XD

Sorry it took a while, but I'm trying to no exceed a week in uploading chapters. I hope you've enjoyed so far. Stay tuned~


	10. Ai Toshite Shitte Nani Wo

A/N: I've had people ask me why certain characters aren't in the story...so to clarify, I'll tell you all now that this will be a REALLY long story (or at least, I'm aiming for 20-something chapters). So please be paitent with me on this, since as I stated once before, the MAIN PAIRING is GERTALIA. However, if you request a pairing by sending me a message or simply writing it as a comment, I will consider it and it will have a high chance of being in the story if it's reasonable, (except those involving Germany, Italy, America and Japan, because...well, you know.) There's some PrussiaxCanada if you squint.

It takes me a while to get these posted up due to summer school...stupid physics XD. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter^-^

* * *

Chapter Ten: What Was Known As Love

"Kiss me," Ludwig said, his voice nearly a whisper.

_What?_

"L-ludwig, what do you-"

Ludwig pinned him against the wall, silencing the Italian with his own lips. As he began to close his eyes, Feliciano's were left wide open. The Italian tried to pull away, only to have Ludwig press himself against him, crushing him with his weight. Feliciano then closed his eyes out of shame and being scared. However...

..._this feels familiar..._

After a while, Ludwig finally broke the kiss, searching for air. He gazed at the man before him, who was now in tears. "What's wrong?" the blonde asked harshly. "I-I-I... I d-don't..." Ludwig then placed a hand on Feliciano's shoulder and roughly held him against the wall. "Don't you remember?" he whispered through his teeth. Now crying and shaking uncontrollably out of fear, the Italian shook his head "N-no...I-I d-don't." "You used kissed me all the time, remember?" the blonde said, his voice almost sinister. "L-l-ludwig...I told you," Feliciano said in between sobs, "I-I don't remember! I can't remember anything! I only know what my fratello and everyone else has been telling me!" Ludwig scoffed, then smirked. "You're such a bad person...first you break up your alliance to me and Kiku out of cowardice and attack us. Do you have any idea what that did to us?" the blonde said, his speech now becoming slurred. "And now, you go out and forget us, just like that."

"Ludwig, listen to me! You're drunk, so stop it! I don't know what you're talking about and neither do you!" Feliciano was now bursting into tears, unable to control his speech as well. "You don't know? You don't know? Scheisskopf!*" the blonde shouted. "You're really useless, aren't you? All those times I had to save your ass! I don't even remember why I did all of that for _you_ of all people."

_"I'll aid you whenever you're in a pinch, so stop worrying."_

The words of that faded promised echoed in Ludwig's mind. He got up, and headed his way out of the room. However, something the Italian would say at that moment would tug on him mentally. Maybe even emotionally.

"You're not the same..."

Ludwig let those words sink in._ What the...?_

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Feliciano stumbled as he stood up, but projected his voice for the blonde to hear. "Elizabeta and Roderich...they said I had a first love named Holy Roman Empire...and for I moment, I thought you were him since you look the same. But now I realized...that a person like you...I could never love someone as cruel as you!" Ludwig stood his ground as Feliciano backed up against the wall once more, fighting against his own tears_. Holy Roman Empire...why does that sound so familiar? _the blonde asked himself. "Even though I can't remember what he was like...I'm sure that I he wouldn't be as cold as you! Because...he promised...he promised..."

Those words kept tugging at Ludwig's conscience. "It's not like I could love you either!" he shot back. "You're too stupid and useless! And to top it all off, you're a _guy_! All I ever did was rescue you and clean up after your messes!"

"Then why didn't you just abandon me? You didn't have to stick around, y'know! Lovino said that I had other friends, so I didn't need you at all!"

_It was because I needed you._

No. Ludwig shook his head. He promised himself to never think like that again. He would put it behind him and think of it only as a bad dream.

_I didn't want to be alone again._

_Goddammit,_ _stop thinking like that!_ he told himself. "Then why did you only run to me when you needed help, huh? You always called for me! You never called your brother, or any of your other friends. So why me?" Feliciano began to cry again. "I don't know! Maybe because I thought I could trust you? But right now, I don't see a reason why I was even around you! More or less, why you were around me!"

_Because I thought you loved me, so I..._

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it anymore!" Ludwig shouted back. "That's it! I'm done!" he ran out of the room, in search of a phone. "I should've done this a long time ago!"

* * *

"Excuse me. Kiku?" Elizabeta said quietly.

"Yes, what is it Elizabeta-san?" Kiku asked. "It seems that you have a phone call." she motioned for him to follow her into another room. "Roderich, Lovino, I think it would be a good idea for you two to come along with us as well." Gilbert shot up as the others headed towards the door. "What about Francis? More importantly what about the awesome me?" Gilbert asked, obviously insulted. "Why does Lovi and the aristocrat get to go?" Elizabeta sighed and gave him an annoyed looked. "Because, Gilbert," she said sternly, "it's from Ludwig. Either way, he specifically asked for Kiku."

"How does he even know I'm here?" Kiku asked himself out loud. Lovino crossed his arms. "What does he want? Did he say?" Elizabeta shook her head. "No, but he sounded pretty upset." She then turned to Kiku. "The phone's right in there," the Hungarian said as she pointed to a room directly across the hall. "Take your time." The Japanese man nodded and closed the door behind him as he entered the room. He saw that the phone was placed on the table. With shaky hands, he picked up the phone and gulped. "Ludwig, this is Kiku speaking. You wish to speak to me?" At first, all Kiku could hear was the other man's labored breathing. "Ludwig, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," he replied. "I called your house, but they said you were over there at Roderich's house." Kiku tried his best not to sound surprised. "I see...then this must be of great importance." He heard Ludwig scoff. "You got that right." The blonde had paused, as if to think of what to say, then continued. "Look, I know it's been a long while, but I need you to do me a big favor." Kiku could hear the sincerity in Ludwig's voice. However, he failed to notice right away that the door was slightly open.

"What are they talking about?" Lovino half whispered, half shouted.

"Shut up! I may be awesome, but that doesn't mean I have super hearing or something!" said Gilbert.

"Will both of you stop acting like children and be quiet!" Roderich said sternly.

"Why? What's an aristocrat like you gonna do? Wave money in my face and bribe me to shut up?" Gilbert shot back.

"No, but I'll be the one to wave something in your face!" Elizabeta said, clutching onto her frying pan.

"Elizabeta, mon cher, calm down." Francis said worriedly. "What's important is that we listen in on our little _Japonaise's* _conversation, no?" They all moved their focus back on Kiku, who seemed to be struggling. "...yes...ok...I'm sure I can somehow accommodate...it's no problem...it's nice to hear from you, too...alright then, but the earliest I can get there is in two hours. Can you hold off until then...okay then, 4 o'clock it is...I'll see you then. Okay, good bye." As he hung up the phone, he glared at the door. "You know, the four of you aren't that great at spying."

"Spying? Who's spying?" Gilbert said nonchalantly as he walked into the room. "We were all...concerned. That's right! We're concerned!"

"Geez, you're not that good at lying either." Roderich muttered. "Hey, who was the one who invaded your vital regions? Should I remind you? Kesesesese!"

"Maybe _I_ should remind _you_!" Elizabeta said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Lovino and Francis rolled their eyes in annoyance. "Anyways, what did that potato bastard want?" Lovino asked. Kiku cleared his throat. "Gilbert-san, it seems that your part of the plan failed." Gilbert laughed at this, only to see the seriousness in the man's expression. "Mein gott...why? What did my bruder say?"

"He...he's giving up. He can't handle Feliciano-kun being around him, so he asked me to take him away from him."

"And you agreed?" Lovino shouted. He preceeded to shout more foul things in Italian as Roderich went up to Kiku and Elizabeta. "What are we going to do now?" Francis muttered as crossed his arms. "Why _did _you agree?" the Austrian asked. "Ah, about that...well, if it's okay with Gilbert-san, I would like to have my turn now. However..." Kiku spaced off as Gilbert started to flail his arms like a child. "That's not fair!" he whined. "I only had one day with him! I wanna play with Feli more!" The next thing they all knew, Gilbert was on the ground with Elizabeta standing next to him, both her hand and his face red. "You had your chance, and you blew it. So he'll be going along with Kiku now, got it?" she said through her teeth. "Yes...ma'am..." the man mumbled. "Excuse me, but can I make a phone call? There's something I want to confirm before Feliciano-kun comes over to my house." Kiku said as he motioned towards the phone. "Go ahead." Roderich said as he facepalmed. _Great, just great. Now we have to clean up Gilbert's mess..._

"Mon cher, I'm sorry to say that I have to leave on another important business. However if you need anything else, please give me a call." As Francis was about to leave, he could've sworn he felt something hit him. Literally. Looking down, he noticed a black loafer on the ground, shoelaces untied. "You bastard! Where do you think you're going!" the blonde man turned around to see Lovino, wearing only one shoe. "I just said that I had something important to do."

"More important than Feliciano?"

"On the contrary, yes. My boy, Matthew, has been sick for the past two weeks." Gilbert quickly looked up upon hearing this. "I even went as far as to ask Yao if he had any herbs or such that'll help..." Francis continued to look at the ground. "Oh...um, sorry, I guess. I hope he gets better..." Lovino mumbled as he retrieved his shoe. "I wanna go visit him!" Gilbert said as Francis headed towards the door once more. However, he turned around and glared at the other man. "I'd rather you not." Once Francis had left, Gilbert kept his eyes on the door, those words ringing in his ears. "Geez, what on earth did you do to make him look at you that way?" Elizabeta asked. "I have no idea..."

"Alright, it's settled." Kiku said, after hanging up the phone. "Alfred and I will be picking up Feliciano-kun in about two hours so-"

"-wait, wait, wait. Since when was Alfred gonna help?" asked Gilbert. "Oh, well...um..." Kiku's cheeks turned to a bright shade of red. "He's...well...we're...um..."

"He's...well...we're...um...' Just spit it out already!" said an impatient Lovino. They were interrupted by a laughing Elizabeta. "That's just too cute!" she said in between giggles. "What are you talking about?" asked Roderich. "Don't you guys get? Alfred's helping because they're living together now!" she answered proudly as she patted an embarrassed Kiku, much to the other's surprise. "What...how...and since when?" they all began to ask. "Well...it's actually a bit different than what she said..." said Kiku as he looked at the ground, trying to hide his red face, "...but I suppose that would be the closest thing to it..." Gilbert let out a hearty laugh. "Wow Kiku! I didn't think you'd have it in you!" he said as he patted his head. "...just promise you'll take care of my fratello." Lovino said with a blank face. "Of course I will! I care about him a lot, so I'll do my absolute best!"

* * *

Feliciano stayed in the backyard with the dogs-by his own choice. _Being inside is too scary..._he thought. The dogs circled around him. One of them, probably Aster, went up to him a couple of times. Feliciano smiled at him. "Why can't Ludwig be as nice and cute as you?" he said as he petted him. In one hand, he held a flower close to him. He touch the pure, white petals with the other hand, and began to pluck them off one at a time.

"I cry...I don't cry...I cry...I don't cry...I cry...I don't cry..."

There was one more petal on the flower. _Well, look at that,_ he thought. However, without a second thought, without any hesitation, he did what he didn't want to do: he cried. All because the flower had told him that it was okay to do so.

* * *

A/N: Again, sorry this took so long, and sorry that it's pretty short and rushed (well, at least I think so). I hope you enjoyed so far. I'll be working as hard and as fast as I can. Although, that depends since I have an upcoming exam for physics =.= Wish me luck? Until next time! ;P

*Scheisskopf-shithead (literally)

*Japonaise-French for Japanese (person)


	11. Ochiru Sakura no Basho E not ch2

A/N: I am SO sorry that it took so long (probably about 2-ish weeks?) And I'm sorry for the mix up (for those who don't know, for some reason, ch.2 was reposted as ch. 11) Summer school woes finally caught up to me, but I hpoe this chapter makes up for it. WARNING! There's a lot of...well, I wouldn't call it OOC-ness, but stuff happens in this chapter that some of you might not be...prepared for (at least, I know some were expecting this). Well, here we go!

* * *

Chapter 11: To Where the Cherry Blossoms Fall

When Feliciano entered his room, the last thing he thought he would see was Ludwig. As he stood at the doorway, there he was. Packing his things. For the longest time, Feliciano stood his ground, not saying a single word. However, Ludwig soon noticed him. He continued to put the Italian's things in his bag, as he started to clarify everything. "Kiku's going to pick you up. He'll be here in about two hours, so I suggest you get ready to leave." Feliciano gulped. "But what about Gilbert? I want to say good bye to him..."

"I'll let him know you left. Just get ready. I'll leave the rest to you." As Ludwig was leaving the room, he felt something warm grab his hand. "Um...Ludwig...I-I...I wanted to say that I'm sorry." The blonde could feel his heart beat faster. He merely scoffed, snatched his hand away and began to head back to his room. "What I said earlier...I didn't mean it!" But it was too late. Ludwig was already inside his own room. Feliciano stared at the German's doorway, debating in his mind on whether or not he should do something, _anything_ to make up for what he said. But what could he say? He didn't know.

_If I remembered everything...I would probably know what to say..._

Ludwig kept his back to the door. _Why am I doing this to myself?_ he thought. As he stared at his beer bottle filled room, he noticed a beam of light coming from a hole in his curtain. He walked up to the window, holding the old curtain in his hands. He stared at it for the longest time, thinking about how complex it must've been to make such a thing and id he should leave his room dark.

"Ne, Ludwig?" The blonde's attention shifted to the door, which was still closed. "...Ludwig, I know you can hear me." His grip on the curtain tightened. "Leave me alone! Go and pack your things already!"

_Don't make me do something to you I'll regret._

"Just go away!" Ludwig shouted, his hands now clutching his head, but to who? Himself, or Feliciano? "Fine! Be that way!" the Italian shouted back. "The least you can do is accept my apology!" _Mein gott, he's so..._Ludwig opened the door slightly, enough to only reveal the right half of his body. All he saw were teary amber eyes staring back at him. Those teary eyes...

_"I like you the way you are."_

Ludwig blinked. _What?_

"What did you just say?" Ludwig asked, the door now fully open. Feliciano began to walk backwards. "I-I didn't say anything. Honest." he said, placing his hand over his heart. "Don't lie to me! You said, 'I like you the way you are.'" Feliciano shot him a confused look. _Is he...halucnating?_ "Ludwig, I think you've been drinking to much. You should get some rest." The Italian gently reached out to the other man, only to have his hand be swatted away. He quickly held his wounded hand with his other hand. "I was only try to help..."

"Just leave me alone! Why do you keep coming back to me?" the blonde barked. Feliciano stepped forward, unsure of himself. However, he quickly turned his doubt into courage. "Because I remembered something!"

Like what?

Feliciano, now crying, still stood his ground and tried to fight off his tears. "You...you promised that you would help me no matter what! Even though I might not be the same because I can't remember everything, why can't we go back to that? From the small moments I _can_ remember, we were happy! So why can't we be happy now?"

_Because you made the nightmare come true...you made our nightmare come true..._

Ludwig balled his hands into a fist. "How many goddamn times do I have to tell you? Just go away! What happened in the past doesn't matter! Past is past!" Feliciano trembled. "But today is a new day! A clean slate!" the Italian countered. "We can forget what happened and move on, can't we?" The blonde stared at him, making Feliciano feel as if his crisp blue eyes were piercing right through him. "That can't happen, even if you want it to. Now, for the last time, just leave me alone." He motioned back towards his room, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. "What is it now-"

Ludwig's question was cut off by the other's lips. The force Feliciano had put on him made him stumble so that his back eventually hit the door. His eyes were kept open as the Italian applied more pressure. Lost in his own confusion, Ludwig couldn't help but wonder...

_Did those kisses always feel like this?_

This kiss felt more empty then those other ones, even if they were just on the cheek. His lips didn't feel as warm, and they've lost the love and tenderness they once had. Once Feliciano broke the kiss, Ludwig placed his hand over his lips and looked away. "What the fuck was that for?" Feliciano frowned. "You said that I always used to kiss you, so I wanted to see for myself why I wanted to kiss you a lot before, but..." he paused for a moment, as if to choose his words wisely. "...I have to say I'm disappointed."

_SLAM!_

The next thing he knew, Feliciano was on the ground with his back against the floor, his whole body pinned by Ludwig's hands. He trembled underneath the blonde's piercing gaze. Ludwig slowly ran one hand along Feliciano's side, making him shudder. "Disappointed now, are we?" he asked in a husky, demanding tone. "L-l-ludwig...w-what're you gonna-ah!" the Italian's question was cut of by the blonde's lips nipping at his neck. Feliciano did his best to squirm away from Ludwig, but to no avail. He only tighten his hold on him. "L-l-ludwig...I...I don't want this! Get off of me!" he cried out. Ludwig ceased his malice kisses and stared the other man down. "You...you left me once before," he said, "...and I'm not gonna let that happen again! You're gonna stay here and enjoy this, got that? I'm not gonna take any obejections from you. Not this time. I won't let you go until I'm done with you!" Before Feliciano could even have a word in this, the blonde captured his lips with his own.

* * *

Hesitating footsteps slowly approached the house. Alfred sighed. "Are you sure about this?" he asked Kiku, who was obviously uncomfortable. "I'm sure. It's just that I haven't seen Ludwig in a while, so I'm a little scared to be honest." Alfred gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry! If something happens, I'll be the hero and save you!" Kiku blushed at this statement. "Ano...thank you again for helping me out. I-"

"-no! P-p-please stop it! I...I...WAH!"

Kiku and Alfred shifted their attention to the door, unable to determine if what they just heard was real or just a figment of their imagination.

"Shut your goddamn mouth! If you keep this up I'll tie you to the chair again! Goddammit, quit squirming around so much!"

"B-but it _hurts_! It...it..."

The sentence ended with Feliciano's tormented screams, which lead to Kiku and Alfred running towards the front door. Kiku took his fists and pounded as loudly has he could. "Ludwig! What's going on in there! Open the door this instant!" Through the cries was a helpless cry. "Kiku! Kiku help me!" the voice pleaded, only to be drowned by the sound of a smack. "What did I just say about keeping you mouth shut?" _L-ludwig? What are you doing to him?_ "I-I'm sorry Ludwig! Please, not the chair! I don't wanna be in the chair!" Feliciano wailed. "Kiku, move out of the way!" Alfred commanded. Kiku did what he was told, leading the hero to back up, then kick the door. He repeated this, kicking harder with each time until the door finally broke down. As he and Kiku rushed in, what they saw utterly horrified them-no, what they saw goes beyond the human understanding of horror. Feliciano stared back at them with teary eyes. Most of his clothes had been taken off, leaving him only in an open oxford shirt. Purple and blue bruises had stained his body, and Kiku could've sworn that there were some cut marks that weren't there before. Ludwig merely glared at them, only to continue beating on the half conscience man.

Out of fear of seeing death take away a person, Alfred ran towards the other two men and pounced on Luwdig, leaving Kiku petrified at what he had just witnessed. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get off of me now!" Ludwig yelled as he struggled against the other blonde. "No way in hell I'm gonna let that happen!" He quickly glanced over Kiku. "Listen to me Kiku! Get Feliciano untied and get the hell out of here as fast as you can!" However, the Japanese man remained standing still, unable to think clearly. "This isn't the time to be standing around!" Alfred said, as he tightened his grip on Ludwig, who was still trying to get out of his grasp. "Kiku, it's your turn to be the hero now! Get him and go! I can handle Ludwig! Just get out of here! Now!" Kiku nodded and rushed over to his friend, untying the ropes that bound him with skilled hands. "Feliciano-kun, can you stand up on your own?" he asked as he untied the last rope. "I can't even feel my legs..." Kiku understood and lifted him with his arms. "Go whlie you still have time!" Alfred shouted once more, leaving Kiku to nod and carry Feliciano out of the house.

"K-kiku..." Feliciano mumbled, "...don't let him hurt Ludwig...please..." his eyes slowly closed as he said this, only making Kiku even more worried. "Don't worry, you'll be safe now. Alfred and I will protect you." _So please...hang in there..._

* * *

A/N: Sorry this was pretty short, (at least, I thought it was). As chapter 12, I'll be working on it, so stay tuned! (please?) Anyways, let's see...um, to the doitsu fangirls out there who like him better as a confused, starryed guy trying to figure out his relationship with italy, I'm sorry for making him an asshole in this, but I felt that it kinda had to be done for this story. After all, after WWII, Germany and Italy (in reality) fought A LOT, and then German soldiers raped Italian women and such, so I'm just using history as a basis for this part of the story. Anyways, I hope you're enjoyng this so far. ^^


	12. Asoko Yori Kono E

A/N: I just noticed that most of the songs in my iTunes fit certain themes of this story...lol, just a random thought. Anyways, when I wrote this chapter, I was listening to Goodnight Goodnight and Not Falling Apart by Maroon5 and thought that the lyrics fit overall, although you would have to change certain pronouns and such. Either way, the general meaning and feeling of the song fits the past couple of chapters. Well, here it is, chapter 12! :D

* * *

Chapter 12: From Over There To Here

It had all been a giant blur. All he could hear was someone calling out to him as he sat down, his back leaning against the wall. But even then, he wasn't sure if it was real or not.

_I'll wait! I'll always wait. I'll be waiting with lots of sweets!_

"Just who is talking to me?" the German mumbled to himself. _Is it something I'm suppose to remember?_ An image of a young girl clad in green briefly appeared in his mind. _Who is that girl?_ He took another sip of beer.

"West! Are you here?"

Gilbert. Ludwig shifted from his position. "I'm in here," he responded, his voice starting to sound more coarse than usual. Gilbert followed the sound of his brother's voice, which lead him to his bedroom. He winced at the strong scent of beer and noticed that there were more bottles of beer than he remembered buying. "Sorry I took so long getting home. I was...visiting a friend after leaving Roderich's house." Ludwig scoffed. "Whatever. Just leave me alone and go back to your little lover boy." he said, his speech slurring. Gilbert shot him a cold look. "Leave him out of it. At least I'm awesome enough to have to courage to go see him." He paused briefly before continuing. "You...you're nothing but a useless coward. All you do is drink and rot away."

"S-shut up. I'm a soldier!"

"Tch, soldier my ass. What kind of soldier runs away because of the past? Shouldn't a soldier be strong and face anything?"

Ludwig stood up, his legs shaking. "I am strong! Only idiots like you can't understand!"

"...you used to be strong. But that's no longer the case. Now, you're just pathetic."

"Shut up!" Gilbert quickly moved away from the doorway, leaving a bottle of beer to hit the door instead. He then re-entered the room, pushing Ludwig to ground. "Calm the fuck down!" The blonde glared at him from the ground, and Gilbert glared back with rage in his eyes. "I know what you did to Feli. And if I remember right, I told you that I won't hesistate to hurt you if something happened to him."

"Go ahead! I'd like to see you try!"

_SMACK!_

Ludwig held his stinging cheek. "I don't understand West...why do have to be like this? Why can't you just let it go?" Gilbert shouted, his voice and hands shaking as he grabbed his brother by the shoulders. "Can't you just forgive him already and move on?"

"Bruder...I have something to ask you..."

Gilbert looked into his brother's eyes, a crisp blue clashing with raging red.

"Is there...something I should know? Ever since _he_ came here...I keep seeing _things_..."

"Things? Like what?"

"...a young girl...in a green dress..." Gilbert loosened his grip as Ludwig contiued. "...it feels like she's calling me out...but it's not my name...she's calling me..."

"Holy Roman Empire," they both said in unison. "How do you know about that bruder?" asked Ludwig, who was honestly surprised. Gilbert covered his face with his hand and let out a tired groan. "It's not my place to tell you. You have to remember it on your own." As drunk as he was, Ludwig was willing to bet that he would still be confused if he was sober. "I don't understand. Can't you just tell me?"

* * *

Kitchen noises. That's what the Italian had woken up to. However, the moment he had woken up, it felt as though there was a large weight on him. But that wasn't the only problem he had.

_Where...am I?_

He knew for certain it wasn't the hospital, and it didn't look like Roderich and Elizabeta's house. He sat up, only to noticed that he wasn't in a real "bed." It was more of a...mattress. His eyes scanned the room once more, searching for anything that would look familiar. He noticed that the door, or at least what looked like a door, was a large black frame with paper. Barely any light filtered through it, leaving the room to be partially illuminated. He could feel the pattern of the tatami mat that layed underneath him. Strings were suspended from the ceiling, with assorted colors of paper cranes hanging from them. There was a small chesnut drawer in the corner of the room, with a medium sized mirror and another mattress rolled up next to it. His eyes shifted to the floor, where he noticed something that he felt was out of place. He ended up staring at his bandaged right hand, with a few red stains on his palm. Frantically, he lifted up his sleeve, noticing at that moment that he was wearing a robe. However, he chose to ignore that and saw that it wasn't just his hand wrapped in bandages, but his whole arm.

_What's going on? What...what happened to me? Why am I...?_

He decided to untie the sash around his robe to loosen it, only to reveal more bandages that covered his body from the base of his neck down to his stomach. His eyes quickly scanned the room once more.

_I've been here before...haven't I? This is...Kiku's house, isn't it?_

"Kiku? Kiku! Are you there?"

He stared at the doorway with hopfeful eyes. Through the paper screens, he saw three large shadows making their way to the room. "Feliciano-kun! Are you alright?" Kiku asked hastily as he nearly tore the door open. Following right behind him was Alfred and to Feliciano's surprise, his brother. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Instead he gazed at his brother.

_Is he...crying?_

Now, what Feliciano didn't know was that this was the first time Lovino had seen him since he dropped him off at _his_ house. With hesitant tears, Lovino slowly made his way over to him. "You idiot..." he said harshly, his voice nearly a whisper. "Fratello," Feliciano sqeaked in response. Lovino sat down next to his brother, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and resting his head on his chest. "...why the hell didn't you listen to me and leave that bastard alone?" he cried. "I told you not to bother him, and now look at you!" Feliciano could feel his brother's tears seeping through his bandages. "He hurt you so _much_," he continued, "and there was nothing I could do to stop it!"

For a while, Feliciano didn't move. Even though he couldn't well remember it all too well, he knew just by looking at him that Lovino wasn't the type to cry unless he absolutely had to, and that his sadness was utterly sincere. He just let his brother hold onto him until he finally decided to smooth his hand over his back. "Fratello, it's okay. Because of Kiku and Alfred, I'm still here. You should thank them instead of beating yourself up over the situation." Lovino looked up at his brother. He was smiling, the warmest smile he'd seen from Feliciano in years. As far as he knew, this was the first time Feliciano smiled since his days as part of the Axis Powers.

_But he only smiled like this around __**him**__..._

"You're right," Lovino said as he wiped his tears away. "Kiku, Alfred, thank you so much for looking after my brother and I apologize for constantly asking you to do so." Kiku shook his head, then smiled. "Lovino-san, I already told you, I don't mind it. Feliciano-kun is my dear friend, so I'm happy to help."

"Yeah, and besides," Alfred said as he swung an arm around Kiku's shoulder, "it's only human to want to help. I mean, why wouldn't we want to help you?"

Suddenly, Kiku shifted towards the door. "I almost forgot! I left something on the stove! Excuse me." He bowed his head slightly before rushing off to the kitchen. Alfred let out a light laugh. "He's so cute when he's like that." he said with a wide smile. However, his smile broke the moment Lovino and Feliciano gave him a strange look. "Um, I think I'll go help him out." he said nervously. "We'll call you guys when dinner's ready."

Lovino facepalmed as Alfred left the room. "Geez, those two are so weird." Feliciano laughed at this. "Aw, but they're so cute! They're together, aren't they?" The other Italian scoffed, then let out a laugh. "As if it wasn't obvious enough! But...I'm glad that I can trust those two."

"Ne~ fratello, can I tell you a secret?"

"Hm? Is it good or bad?"

"I'm pretty sure it's good~"

"Well then, let's hear it."

Feliciano smiled confidently. "I...I remember. I remember a lot. Like, the time you lived with Antonio while I lived with Roderich and Elizabeta, the time I introduced you to Kiku and Ludwig, the time we were captured by Arthur..." he trailed off, noticing how Lovino stared at him, his eyes wide open.

_Please don't tell me he remembers __**that**__! Il mi dio*, please don't let him remember __**that**__ of all things!_

"You...you remember it? Everything?" he asked frantically as he took hold of his brother's shoulders. Feliciano gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, some things are a little fuzzy. There's some gaps. It's like, I can't remember anything past the middle of World War 2. It just skips from then to, well, when I woke up in the hospital."

_Okay, he doesn't know. That's good..._

"Don't worry, it'll all come back to you," Lovino replied with a reassuring smile, trying to conceal his the fact that he's worried. "All you need to do is rest."

"Ne~ I have a question fratello. Am I...am I crazy?" Feliciano asked with innocent eyes. Lovino was taken aback. _Great, what am I suppose to tell him?_ Romano cleared his throat. "What makes you ask such a question?"

"Well...there's something I want."

_Oh no...he __**does**__ remember..._

Lovino gulped and faked another smile. "What is it?" He watched as his younger brother's eyes shifted, as if they were searching for an answer. "Well..." A deep sigh left his lips before he could continue. "I want to see Ludwig."

"No." Lovino replied immediately with a dark tone in his woice. "I won't let that bastard anywhere near you. He's caused enough damage already, and I won't let him hurt you anymore."

"But fratello, I-"

"No means no. I won't make any exceptions. It's bad enough...it's bad enough..."

..._it's bad enough that he took you away from me. You're not the same brother I knew all these years. He changed you._

"Lovino-san! Feliciano-kun! Dinner's ready!" Kiku's voice echoed throughout the house. "We better get going. Here, let me help you up," Lovino said as he got up and extended his hand. Felicano accepted his help with a smile, slightly trembling as he attempted to get up. "Take your time," the older Italian said calmly. "You were knocked out for two days, so just take it easy." Feliciano only nodded as they slowly made their way to the kitchen, never letting go of Lovino's hand. The scent of grilled meat and seasoned vegetables filled the house, along with the sounds of clattering tableware. Feliciano noticed his brother took in the smell and made a nervous face. He let out a light laugh. "Don't worry, Kiku always makes something delicious. I'm sure you'll like whatever he makes."

_CRASH!_

"Oh my god...I'm so sorry!" the blonde said instantly.

"Al-chan, can't you handle the dishes with more care?" Kiku asked sternly.

They were interrupted by Feliciano's laughter. "You two are so cute. Ve~ Kiku, that smells delicious!" Kiku smiled. "Then let's sit down and eat together."

"Ve~ Like a family?"

"Yes," Lovino responded warmly, "like a family."

* * *

After dinner, Kiku took Feliciano outside. "I wanna try to light one up too, Kiku!" the Italian said as he looked at the sparklers with amazement. "Alright, but you have to be careful." Alfred and Lovino watched from the proch. "You know, they both act like little kids," the older Italian commented. Alfred let out a light laugh. "I know, right? But that's what makes them loveable. Besides, being a kid and playing around is fun! You should try it. I'm sure Antonio wouldn't mind it." Lovino blushed at this. "I'll pretend that you didn't say that. But you know..."

"Hm? Know what?"

Lovino stared at his brother, following his movements. "I know he wants more than anything to be with that bastard, but..."

"You don't want him to, right?" Alfred asked as he cocked his head. "That's understandable. I mean, when Kiku and I found him a couple of days ago, I couldn't help but feel so...angry." The blonde winced at the sheer memory of it. "But love can do that to you." Alfred let out deep sigh. "But you know, I can kinda understand how your brother's feeling. After all, I can't stand a day without being near Kiku. And I'm pretty damn sure you feel the same about Antonio." This time, Lovino whacked the blonde as he laughed playfully. "So what if I do?" he shouted, his face a deep red. "Should I...just give into Feliciano's wishes?" The blonde smiled. "Here's what I think. You should let him find his own happiness. He deserves it, don't you think? I believe so." Lovino laughed lightly. "You know, you're pretty mature for a young nation." Alfred rolled his eyes at this comment. "But I do agree with you. It's just that, I don't want to lose the only family I have left."

"I understand that too. I'd be super protective of Matthew if someone was gonna take him away. But that's a hero's job!" Alfred exclaimed as he stuck out his chest. He then faced the older Italian. "It's our job as older brothers to look after our siblings. We have to make sure that they're happy. Happiness is one of the most important things in this world, so we have to seize it."

"Happiness, huh..." Lovino looked at Feliciano, whose face lit up with happiness, and smiled. "Maybe...I should let him find his happy ending." Alfred flashed him a thumbs up. "That's the spirit!"

"But don't get me wrong. If that bastard makes him cry one more goddamn time, I'll end him." Alfred laughed at this. "That's so typical coming from you. But if something happens, Kiku and I will back you up. I give you a hero's promise."

"Al-chan! You wanna try this too?" Kiku called from where he stood. "Yeah! I'll be right there!" Alfred tugged on Lovino's arm. "C'mon, let's go play! I'm sure Feliciano will enjoy playing with his older brother!" Lovino gave a reluctant smile. "I guess I'll give it a try..."

* * *

Feliciano stared at the clock in his room. _Ve~ it's only ten o'clock. I still wanna play!_ But everyone else was already tired from all the fun they had in the backyard. He looked at his left arm, not even noticing that his right hand kept tugging at the bandages. _It's so itchy!_ He scratched harder, only to leave a stinging sensation in his left arm. _Maybe if I loosen the bandage...or I could take it off..._He began to unravel the wrappings, starting from his palm. He kept unravelling until...

_...since when did I have this...?_

He removed more of the bandages only to discover a scar that went from his wrist to the middle of his forearm. He let his right hand trace over ever single crevice the scar left in his arm.

"This is..."

* * *

A/N:

*il mi dio-my god

I hope you guys enjoyed it so far! Sorry to leave you hanging, and sorry if this seemed short. But I am working on the next chapter. What will happen to our beloved main character? Will Germany remember everything about his past? Or will Prussia have to knock some more sense into him? Will I update soon? Only time can tell. Stay tuned for the next chapter :D


	13. Harukana Hibiki

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoy chapter 13 =)

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Distant Echoes

"This is..."

Feliciano held his shaking wrist up to the pale moonlight filtering through the paper screens.

_Oh no...this is..._

Tears welled up in his eyes. _I remember now...the meeting...the plan..._He quickly threw his sheets off of him and began to gather his things. _I have to get away! I have to get as far away as possible!_ he thought. He searched the room for a piece of paper and dug inside his bag for a pen...Memories flooded his mind.

_"You sounded seriously when you called me earlier," said Kiku as he invited the Italian into his home. He observed the way he walked it. It wasn't as carefree, it was more...strained. "Is there something wrong, Felicia-" His question was cut off by an Beretta M 1935 held in front of his face. "W-what are you doing with that? Feliciano-kun!" Kiku tried to look at his ally-his friend-but the moment their eyes met, he could tell that he was no longer the same person. His eyes didn't have the same warmth they always had; They grew cold. _

_"I...I'm siding with the Allies. And my first mission is to get rid of you and Ludwig."_

Once he was done, he folded the paper and placed it on top of the folded futon mattress. As quietly as possible, he slid the door open, making sure that his footsteps were light. Once he made it to the front of the house, he slipped on his shoes and started to run. There wasn't a single person in the streets, which was good and bad. Good, because there would be no one to stop him. Bad, because he was in a country where he didn't know every street like the back of his hand. However, he continued to run through the city, not looking back. Not even once.

He stopped once he reached what seemed to be a shipping dock. The moonlight reflected off the water, leaving suspicious shadows in the water and in the docking area.

* * *

"Kiku! Il di mio! Kiku!"

The voice still seemed far away. That is, until Lovino slammed Kiku's door wide open. Kiku shot up from his futton. He noticed that the Italian had something crumpled in his hand. "What happened?"

"He's gone!"

The other man's eyes widened with horror. He stumbled trying to get up, still trying to make sense out of what Lovino just told him. "What do you mean by 'gone'?"

"I found this in his room. All of his things are gone too!" the Italian said frantically as he handed over the crumpled note over to Kiku. Kiku glanced over it, re-reading it more times than he could count, just to make sure he wasn't misunderstanding what was written down.

"_To my dear fratello, and my friends Kiku and Alfred,_

_As much as it pains me to write this, I feel like I have no choice. I've been too troublesome for all of you. I'm sorry that throughtout all our time together, you've always been helping me while I've barely done anything for you. This will be the last time I bother any of you. I promise._

_-Feliciano"_

Kiku read the last two lines once more, his hand shaking uncontrollably. "W-w-what does he mean by 'the last time?'" Lovino shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't know! Please, help me find my brother! He can't be alone! He already tried to kill himself more than once! I don't want the next time I see my brother to be at his funeral!"

"Calm down, Lovino-san! We'll call everyone. There's a phone in my study, so feel free to use it. I'll get Al-chan to make some phone calls of his own to help. We'll find him."

"A-are you sure?"

Kiku gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure."

* * *

The blonde man stayed in his room, having never once leaving it since the day before. He stared out the window, but he was looking at nothing in particular. He just stared off into the sky, as clear as his eyes.

_~The Day Before~_

_"Gilbert, can't you just tell me who she is? I'm tired of guessing already."_

_"Fine, fine!" Gilbert said with an annoyed voice. He let out a sigh, marking the beginning of a complicated story he knew too well._

_"You better remember every single word I say, got it? I'm too awesome to repeat everything, so listen up. This goes back to when Roderich, Elizabeta and I were in our late teens. Back then, you were just a toddler. You were known as the Holy Roman Empire. Anyways, you ended up living with Austria and Hungary, who you were in control of. One day, when you came home from a battle of some sort, you were surprised to see that girl working for the aristocrat. She was afraid of you, but you were nice to her. After a while, you two got along fairly well, always playing together and such. At some point, you asked her to aid you in war by joining forces, but she rejected your offer. To be perfectly blunt, you were an idiot who only wanted more power than you could handle. I guess that just proves that you had a stick up your ass since you were a kid-"_

_"-can you just get to the point?" Ludwig cut in. "I only asked who she was."_

_"Alright! Don't get your boxers in a twist! Now where was I...oh! That's right, you were a complete idiot, kesesese!" Ludwig facepalmed as he listened to more of his brother's story._

_"You were leaving to fight in the Thirty Years' War, and she saw you off. Even though she wouldn't aid you in battle, she wished for your safe return. In short, she loved you, you loved her, and you promised to visit her as soon as the war was over."_

_"So what you're telling me is that girl I keep seeing and dreaming about is my first love or something like that?" Gilbert shrugged. What was he suppose to say? "I guess you can say that." The blonde scoffed. "Tch, some first love. If she loved me, why didn't she look for me after the war?"_

_Gilbert let out a strained sigh. "West, she thinks you're dead."_

_"What?"_

_Gilbert sighed. "We all thought you were dead. You didn't show up for months. But then when Roderich and I found you, we saw that Francis kicked the living shit out of you in the war. You couldn't remember anything, not even your name. Roderich and Elizabeta already had their hands full with raising that girl, so I decided to take you in. We made a promise along with Francis to never tell anyone who you were, especially her. We gave you a new name, and left it at that. So it was as if you were always Ludwig and never the Holy Roman Empire."_

_Ludwig shot up from where he was sitting, knocking over the table. "Bullshit! So that means the only reason I believed that I couldn't remember anything was because you said there was nothing to remember?"_

_"West, what the hell was I suppose to do? Let you remember how much you suffered in the war?" Gilbert countered. "And just was I suppose to tell her? That you were nearly beaten to death and you couldn't remember anything? She already cried enough for you because she thought you died! Imagine how she would feel if the one person she loved couldn't remember anything, even her! She didn't need to cry even more!"_

_Ludwig looked at the ground, avoiding any eye contact with Gilbert. "...is she...still alive?" he managed to ask, although it was obvious that the question was forced out of him. "Yeah, she is. But that doesn't matter. You hate her. You said so yourself." The blonde shot him a confused look. "How could I say such a thing if I couldn't-no, can't even remember her?"_

_"Because she isn't a girl!"_

_Ludwig's eyes widened. "What?" His eyes were fixated on his brother. He noticed every small movement such as his furrowing brows and as his chest rising and falling with nervousness. "You heard me, West. Your first love wasn't a girl That kid working for Roderich...that kid wasn't a girl." Gilbert's response echoed throught Ludwig's mind. However, something else he had heard years ago stood out in his mind._

_**"W-well, I did have a first love, but it was another boy..."***_

_"Then who? Who is it Gilbert? Tell me now or I'll-"_

_"It's Feli!"_

_Ludwig stayed standing, so many thoughts running into his head. "Y-you're lying! There's just no way they're the same person!"_

_"Now, why the hell would the awesome me lie to you about something as serious as this?"_

_RIIIIIINNNNNNNG RIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNG_

_Gilbert and Ludwig stared at the phone, allowing it to ring one more time before the older of the two answered._

_"Hello? Elizabeta?" Gilbert quickly held the phone away. 'Geez,' he thought, 'all of these people are going to cost the awesome me's hearing!' He let out a sigh before responding the shouting Hungarian. "-hey! Slow down! Just because I'm awesome doesn't mean I can understand you when you're talking at lightning speed!" However, this only made the girl yell at him even more._

_"Hello? Gilbert? Sorry about that. She's just...very upset." Roderich said, taking over the phone. Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Anyways, what do you guys want? I was in the middle of something." He could head the other man sigh. "You're not gonna like this at all but...Feliciano's missing." Gilbert felt as though his whole body had been paralyzed. "H-how..." That was all he could manage to say. Ludwig watched as his brother stood there by the phone, barely moving. "Hey, what's going-" The blonde was interrupted by a harsh __**sh! **__from his brother. "Alright, I understand the circumstances. I'll search the area as soon as possible.." Roderich let out another sigh. "Okay then. We have no leads so far, and knowing how fast he can retreat, God knows how far he's already gotten." Gilbert scoffed. "You got that right. Is there anything else I need to know?" He could hear Elizabeta shouting something in Hungarian in the background. "Well, it's an agreement between Lovino, Kiku, Alfred, Elizabeta and myself that you should-" Roderich was cut off and Gilbert could hear a struggle in the background. _

_"LEAVE THAT FUCKING BASTARD OUT OF THIS, YOU HEAR ME GILBERT?" It was Lovino. "Yes, I understand. Is there anything else you wanna tell me?" Lovino's breathing had changed. "Yeah, I got something to tell you. He left a note." _

_"A note? Oh god...don't tell me it's-"_

_"-it's not a suicide note. More like a run away letter." Gilbert sighed in relief. "But..." the change in the Italian's voice made Gilbert feel as though someone was twisting his stomach. "...he said something that has me scared for his safety." Lovino gulped, clutching the phone with his hands. "He said, 'this will be the last time I bother you. I promise.'" Gilbert's eyes widened. "What the hell's that suppose to mean?" he shouted, loud enough to make Ludwig jump. "We don't know yet. That's why I want to find him. I'm begging you...if you hear anything, please give us a call. We're all over here at Roderich's house, and you're the first person we called so far. Please, I want to prevent my brother from hurting himself even more!"_

_"We believe that he regained all of his memories." Roderich said, taking over the call once more. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be in our current situation. I trust you'll do what is best. And actually...we're going to have a meeting tomorrow morning regarding everything. Until then."_

_"Alright. See you tomorrow."_

_Gilbert slammed down the phone, tears of anger filling his eyes. "Goddammit, why?" _

_"Gilbert what's wrong. Can I-"_

_"No!" Gilbert lashed. "If you even think about helping...just stay out of it! This isn't concerning you!" He grabbed the phone, dialing the first number he could think of. _

_"Hello? Yes, I would like to file a missing persons report."_

_'Just...what's going on here?' Ludwig thought. _

_"Male. Yes, he's in his twenties...he's about five feet seven inches tall...brown hair with a distinctive curl on the left side of his head and amber eyes...his name is Feliciano Vargas..."_

_Ludwig's eyes narrowed._

_"...yes, he is actually. He's in danger of himself...he's depressive and suicidal."_

_'What? Since when was he...?' Ludwig thought. "Hey, Gilbert, since-" _

_"-shut up!" the older said, covering the receiver on the phone with his hand. The blonde winced and took a few steps back. _

_"...yes...hm...not that I know of. Thank you very much. Yes, and even if I can't pick up, please leave a message regarding this. Thank you again. Good bye." He hung up the phone and released a sigh before heading over to his room. "I'll be going out and I won't be back until sometime tomorrow maybe."_

_"So...he's missing?"_

_"Yeah, but what do you care?" Gilbert shot back, his eyes narrowed. "You hate him, remember? Anyways, I'll come back tomorrow. Do whatever you want."_

_~End Flashback~_

The German slumped in his bed. "Am I really suppose to believe all of that..." he mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. His lack of a good night's rest had robbed him of his clear thinking.

_~The Dream~_

Dead bodies. The smell of blood and gun powder burned his nose. He remained in a fort he made out of whatever was left of a burned down civilian home by an ocean whose name he couldn't remember. He knew death was coming to drag him away from what was known as life, but he wasn't willing to go without a fight, just like his men had did. They all fought valiantly until the end. And now, that he was about to face his own end, he vowed not to give up so easily. After all...he had someone waiting for him at home, and he'd rather have the letter say that he was killed in action, rather than anything else that would dishonor him.

He looked over at a pile of what someone else would call "garbage," but was in reality, the last of his possesions. Among them was a rifle, a black cape stained with mud and his own blood, a faded painting...and a broom. He reached for a knife hidden in his boots and held it to the broom.

"I don't want to forget you."

Carefully, he carved words that meant something to him-or at least, mean something to him in the future. But all of a sudden...

"Found you, Holy Roman Empire. Now we can finally end this."

"I won't let you kill me so easily." The young child shouted back to the other blonde. "Tch, you're just a kid. This will be too easy." The older teen pointed a gun at the younger child. "_Dites vos prières*" _The gun shot echoed throughout the shoreline, disappearing to the depths of what would only be known in the future as "history."

~End Dream~

Ludwig shot up from his bed, his clothes completely soaked in sweat. He looked out the window. The sky was painted red with a few white clouds staining the scenery. His gaze then shifted back to his shaking hands.

_What...what the fuck was that?_

Ludwig headed for the bathroom and turned on the sink, allowing the cold water to run. After splashing his face a couple of times, he stared into the mirror. "That was..."

_That was Francis, wasn't it? But I don't remember fighting him that long ago...he looked so young..._

He went back to his room and quickly changed out of his soaked clothes and into some dry ones. As he walked past the window in his room, he noticed that his dogs were asleep in the yard. A deep sigh escaped his lips. "If this all a huge nightmare...I just want to wake up." he muttered.

"West? West, you here?"

_Gilbert?_

Disheartening footsteps approached his bedroom. "Hey, West." Ludwig could tell that there was something different in his brother's voice. It wasn't as enegertic as it used to be. It had more of a solemn, melancholy tone. "Get cleaned up. We're going somewhere." Ludwig shot him an confused look. "Where are we going?"

"Don't ask questions. Let's just go. I already asked someone to come over and take care of the dogs for a couple of days. Now, hurry up. We're running out of time."

_

* * *

_

_* _"W-well, I did have a first love, but it was another boy..." Italy told Germany this in the Buono San Valentino comic

*_Dites vos prières- "_say your prayers" in French

To clarify, the last little bit where Germany has that dream is set two days after Italy ran away. I hope you guys enjoyed it so far. So where did our favorite main character run off to? And where is Gilbert planning on taking Ludwig? Stay tuned and find out :3


	14. Mou Ichido

A/N: Thank you to those who're reviewing this story. You guys always make my day and it's because of you guys that I'm continuing this fic =) I hope you enjoy this next chapter :D

* * *

Chapter 14: Once More

"Don't ask questions. Let's just go. I already asked someone to come over and take care of the dogs for a couple of days. Now, hurry up. We're running out of time."

Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "This is getting annoying now, bruder. Why can't you just tell me now?" Gilbert walked over to his brother. _He looks...different,_ thought the blonde, although he couldn't quite tell what was different. Slowly, the older of the two looked away from the other, his red eyes seeming distant. "I promise that there's a good reason. We'll tell you when we get there."

"'We?' Who's 'we?'"

Gilbert paused, then placed both of his hands on Ludwig's shoulders, red meeting blue. "I'm sorry, West. I...I haven't been a good older brother. There's a reason why we kept all these secrets from you, and now, it's time that we tell you everything. Just be patient a little longer. We'll tell you once we get there. I promise." Ludwig's eyes shifted. "If you say so."

"Then hurry up. Like I said, we're running out of time."

* * *

The moment Antonio walked into the house, he could tell by the sour scent in the air that something was wrong. However, when he looked around, all he saw was a large stain on the floor.

"Thanks again for coming over." Roderich said, leading him into the depths of the house. Antonio shook his head. "_No problema. _After all, I told Lovi that I would help him through this. Where is he?" The Austrian let out a sigh. "Elizabeta and Kiku took him to the bathroom." He noticed that Antonio never shifted his gaze from the stain. He also noted to himself saw that the Spaniard wasn't as cheerful like always. "So he just got sick all of a sudden...huh..."

"You should go see him." Elizabeta said, returning from the bathroom, Kiku following right behind her. "He needs someone to comfort him." Antonio gave her a light smile and went his way. As he approached the bathroom, he saw that Lovino's expression was grim and his face had grown pale. He was sitting on the bathroom floor, hugging his knees to his chest. He didn't seem to notice him, until he looked up.

"Hey," Lovino said weakly. Antonio smiled. He sat down next the Italian, not saying a single word. He knew that Lovino would prefer it that way. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. At first, Lovino was surpirsed at this, but welcomed it all the same. He rested his head on Antonio's shoulder in response, the expression in his face never changing. After a moment, Lovino couldn't help but speak out.

"He's hurt, Antonio. I can feel it. I wouldn't be feeling sick if he was okay..." his voice began to crack as tears welled up in his eyes. "What if we can't find him before it's too late?" he cried, no longer in control of his tears. Antonio began to smooth his hand over Lovino's back and did his best to pacify him. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

"But he's out there all alone! It's been several days already!"

Antonio took his hand and cupped Lovino's face. "Lovi, listen to me," he said, his voice soothing yet demanding. "He's strong and so are you. As long as we don't give up, we'll find him." The Italian buried his face in Antonio's chest. He remembered the first time this happened; the day Feliciano tried to take away his own life.*

_~Flashback~_

_"Lovino? Are you home?" Antonio called from the front of the house. He noticed Lovino's boots near the door. 'He has to be home,' the Spaniard thought. However his thoughts were cut off by sounds of a struggle. Immediately, he followed the noise, concentrating to find its source. He found himself standing in front of the bathroom, the door slightly ajar. "Lovi, are you in there?" he asked as he knocked on the door lightly. _

_"I-I'll be fine!" Lovino insisted. "Por favor...tell me what's wrong." said Antonio, remaining on the other side of the door. "I-I'm not feeling so good. I need you to do me a favor."_

_"Of course! If you need something, I'll do it!"_

_"...please...check on Feliciano..."_

_Antonio's body stiffened. "What do you mean mi amor?" He heard Lovino cough. "I just have this feeling something's wrong with him...and that's why I feel sick...please, go check up on him for me."_

_~End flashback~_

"Get out of here!"

Lovino and Antonio quickly looked up. "Was that...Elizabeta?" Antonio wondered aloud. They both got up from the floor and started to follow the sounds of Elizabeta shouting.

"I want you out of here now!"

Her voice led them to the hallway, where Elizabeta stood her ground in front of Gilbert and to their surprise, Ludwig. Her hands were balled up into fists and her face was flushed with anger. She walked up to the blonde, her fists pounding into his chest and tears streaming down from her eyes. Ludwig stood his ground, not moving from where he was standing, his eyes stone cold.

"Where is he?" she cried as she continued to punch him. "What did you do to my Ita-chan? What did you do to him?" With that, she punched him one last time and collapsed into sadness.

"Elizabeta, you know it's not _entirely_ his fault," Gilbert reasoned as he rolled his eyes at his brother. Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "It's not my fault, period." he said, his voice a low whisper.

"You bastard!" Elizabeta bursted. "He loved you with his whole heart, and you treated him like an animal!"

"Don't you remember that he betrayed me?" Ludwig countered, raising his voice.

_SMACK!_

Ludwig held his hand to his cheek. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" The Hungarian wouldn't let him off the hook. "You just don't get it do you? You insolent, disgusting-"

"-he doesn't know about _it _yet!" Gilbert cut in before Elizabeta could say anymore. "I told him that we'd tell him everything once we got here!"

"Well, you better do something now Gilbert, or else I'll-"

"-Elizabeta, that's enough." Roderich said, coming from behind Lovino and Antonio. "I'll take it from here." Elizabeta let out a small "hmph" before storming off to the living room. Roderich sighed. _Just what am I going to do with her,_ he thought. However his attention shifted to Ludwig. He gave a small smiled, which caused the blonde to feel somewhat suspicious. "Welcome, Ludwig. Here, the living room will be a more suitable place to talk." He motioned for everyone to follow him and looked at Lovino. "Are you feeling better?"

Lovino's gaze shifted towards to blonde. He gave him a disgusted glare. "I don't know. I think I'll be sick again if _he_ overstays his welcome." he said bitterly as Antonio motioned for him to follow them to the living room. The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry. I won't."

As they entered the living room, they saw that Kiku was setting up the tea cups with Elizabeta help. "Where did Alfred go?" the Austrian asked as he proceeded to sit down on the couch. "He's in the study," Kiku replied. "He went to go make a few more phone calls." Kiku quickly set down everything in his hands once he saw Ludwig come within five steps away from him ."Good evening, Ludwig. Welcome back, Gilbert." he said, bowing his head. "Please sit down."

Ludwig nodded and did as he was told, finding a seat next to his brother. He noticed that Kiku's voice was no longer soft and humble. It grew to be monotone and grim. However, he ignored this and found a seat next to his brother. Gilbert let out a sigh.

"West, I know you have a lot of questions, and we're willing to answer them now as long as you don't ambush us with everything that's on your mind."

"Basically," Roderich said as he crossed his arms, "just ask us one thing at a time."

Ludwig shifted around in his seat. "Bruder told me that I'm Holy Roman Empire...and I wanted to know if that's true." Roderich immediately looked at Elizabeta, who gave him an understanding nod in response. "Everyone, please excuse me for a moment." she said as she got up and left the room.

"As for your question, Ludwig," Roderich said as he poured some tea into his cup, "what Gilbert has told you is completely correct." He cleared his throat, changing the subject for a brief moment. "Would anyone else like some tea?" Kiku nodded as Gilbert pushed his cup forward, Antonio crossing his arms. After Roderich finished pouring the tea, he continued to speak. "I'm sure you must be a little...shocked by this, but you have to understand that we made a promise to never tell you until the time was right. Even though some of us don't agree on telling you now," he said, shooting a glare at Gilbert who was taken aback by this, "most of us believe it's beneficial to tell you now rather than telling you later."

Ludwig took in a deep breath, his hands shaking. "I still don't understand. Why didn't you tell me when you found me? How come you're just telling me this now?"

"Didn't you pay attention?" Gilbert asked, obviously annoyed. He buried his face in his hands before continuing. "We promised someone that we wouldn't tell you."

The blonde turned his attention to Kiku, who merely held his cup in his hand. "Did you know anything about this?" he asked, Kiku sensing a threatening tone in Ludwig's voice. "I haven't known long. I've only found out about a week ago."

"I see...so then, who told you not to tell me?" the blonde asked, keeping his head down. "Isn't that a bit obvious, you bastard." Lovino muttered as he crossed his arms and shifted in his seat. "My brother made us swear not to tell you." Ludwig's eyes widened. "W-why would he-"

"-because you were in pain!" Lovino said, shooting up from his seat. "He cared about you so much," he said, his voice starting to crack, "He loved you! He didn't want you to remember the pain you were in, even if it meant he would be in pain! You son of a bitch..." The older Italian broke down into tears, Antonio rushing to his side. "Goddammit..."

"E-excuse me, Roderich. I found it." said Elizabeta, re-entering the room. In her hand was a small paper, which she held closely to her chest. She felt her heart being bruised as she heard Lovino's cries, but did her best to not let herself cry as well. "Alfred's still making phone calls," she said as she proceeded to hand over the paper to Roderich, who then offered it to Ludwig. "Here. I don't know if you'll remember by looking at this, but this is all we have." Hesitantly, Ludwig took the paper, only to realize that it wasn't just a paper. It was a photograph of him when he was younger along with what looked like a younger Feliciano. And they were both smiling. He kept staring at the photograph, unable to believe what he was seeing. The blonde then got up from his seat, his hand gripping the photo.

"I...I need some time to think. Excuse me." As he left the room, he could hear Lovino shouting at him. "You promised him you bastard! You fucking promised him!"

"Just give him some time, Lovi," Antonio said as calmly as possible. He then glanced over at Kiku, who seemed distant. "What are you thinking?" Kiku looked up, tea spilling out of his cup and all over the floor. "I-I...I just have a bad feeling. That's all."

* * *

Ludwig roamed around the halls of the house, not knowing for sure where he wanted to go. He could've sworn that he heard Alfred talking in one of the rooms, but ultimately decided to ignore him. He didn't know what to think anymore, but then again, who would? _Should I believe all of this,_ he thought to himself. He glanced at the photo once more.

_There's no way they're the same person...there's no way we're the same person._

He heaved a large sigh. "Just what am I suppose to do?" he muttered to himself. Ludwig found himself standing in front of a door. At first, he was hesitant. But then he found himself opening the door. As he entered, his eyes scanned the room. It was barren and looked as though no one had been in it for years. It was cluttered with dusty boxes and bundles of God-knows-what. However, his attention was drawn to something. It stood out from everything else. He walked further into the room, reaching out to what looked like a faded painting. He picked up the canvas, blowing off the dust that remained on it. It was a painting of a young child sleeping.

His crisp blue eyes widened in realization. "T-this is..." He quickly looked at the photograph Roderich and Elizabeta gave him and then back at the painting. _The same face..._he thought to himself.

"But I like girls..." he thought out loud. _I do...right?_ He then remembered what Gilbert had told him: "We all thought he was a girl." Ludwig shook his head. _No, there's no way I could love him of all people!_ But as much as he wanted to fight the thought, he could only remember the times his Italian "friend" had clung on to him. He never left him, even when he was told to leave. And all that time, even now, all Ludwig could think was: _Why...did he stay with me all that time?_

_"Because you're my friend~"_

_Was that really all there was to it?_ Ludwig thought. _It couldn't have been...all those hugs and kisses didn't mean anything more than just a sign of friendship...right?But then...all that time he knew...about my past...who I really was...if he really does love me...he would've told me..._

_"He didn't want you to remember all the pain you were in, even if it meant he would be in pain!"_

_No...the Feliciano I knew isn't that strong..._

Ludwig looked at the painting once more and did something he didn't expect to do: he laughed. It was simple, light laugh. His thumb swiped across the painting, across the young Feliciano's face, removing the dust his breath couldn't get rid of. _Why...do I feel this way? _he thought as his laughter settled down. _Isn't this...what someone would call "being happy?" But why do I...?_ If he wasn't confused before, he was definetely confused now. He glanced around the room once more, noticing an old, worn out broom stick. Without even realizing it, his legs began to move toward it.

He picked it up, his eyes examining every aspect of it. He noticed that it hadn't been used recently. As he followed the handle all the way to the deck of the brush, he noticed something. He cleaned off the dust and saw an inscription. He read it out loud:

_Von hier nach dort, liebe ich Sie die innen Welt*_

_This is..._

Quickly, he threw down the broom and held his head between this hands. The painting. The broom. The picture. The smiling young girl. The gun powder. The blood. The laughter. It all started to make sense now.

_"Then I'll...w-what do your people give to their loved ones?"_

_"A...a kiss, I guess."_

Ludwig covered his mouth with his hand. _Did...that really happen?_

_"I'll definetely come back after the war to visit you."_

_"__I'll wait! I'll always wait. I'll be waiting with lots of sweets for you!"_

The promise. A promise to the person he loved the most.

"Roderich! Roderich! I need to talk to you! It's an emergency!"

Ludwig turned around and looked at the door, only to see Alfred running down the hall. The blonde's curiousity got the best of him, so he decided to listen in on the American's conversation with Roderich.

"What happened? What's the meaning of this?" Roderich said as he closed the door behind him. "I've got good news and bad news." Alfred said as breathed in and out hastily. "The good news is that they found him." Roderich sighed in relief. "But who's 'they'?"

"I made some calls and I finally got a response from Yao and a confirmation from Ivan. They found him somewhere in Russia, but..."Alfred stared at the ground, refusing to look at Roderich.

"But what? Is he..." Roderich gulped, "...is he alive?" Alfred gave him a slight nod. "Yeah...he is...barely...according to their reports, they found him in an abandoned cabin. By the time they got there, the cabin was nearly in ashes. They're guess that he was just trying to keep warm and that it was an accident, but you can probably agree with me that wasn't the case."

"So then...what's going to happen? I have to tell Lovino something, Alfred."

Alfred crossed his arms. "They're going to escort him back home. If it's okay with you, I made it so that he would come here." Roderich sighed. "Of course it's okay. After all, I'm not about to let Lovino handle this on his own. Thank you Alfred." The blonde let out a light laugh. "It's fine. After all, it's only a hero's job."

As they walked into the living room, Ludwig leaned against the wall and sunk down to the floor, not knowing what to think anymore. _So that's how it is...huh..._He glanced at the picture in his hand once more. _So that's how it is..._

* * *

*reference to Ch. 2 of this fic

* Von hier nach dort, liebe ich Sie die innen Welt- From Here to There, I'll love you the most in the world (probably not a correct translation, but that's yahoo babel fish for you .)

I hope you've enjoyed it so far :D So now that Ludwig remembers, does he now have a change of heart? Or is his hate still consuming him? And just what was Feliciano thinking, running away to Russia? Stayed tuned ;P


	15. Yoru E

A/N: Hopefully you've enjoyed it so far and will enjoy this next chapter :D

* * *

Chapter 15: To the Night

When he woke up, the room was pitch dark. However, it wasn't a place he didn't recognize. He knew exactly where he was, and it scared him. The Italian threw the sheets off of himself and sat up in the bed. He looked at his hands, but couldn't find them. All he could see was the white bandages wrapped around them. _Why am I here...I thought I was..._

"I...I have to get out of here!" he half whispered, half shouted to himself. This time, he didn't care about any of his possesions and was fully prepared to leave, even if it meant he was going to be _a little _under dressed. However, when he opened the door, he could hear upset voices.

"Lovi, mon cher, just be glad that he's here now and that he's recovering."

_Fratello and Francis are here too?_

"No! I won't be fine until this bastard leaves, dammit!"

"I keep telling you, bruder, Roderich and Elizabeta won't let me leave this damn place until he wakes up!"

"Sh! _Mi amigos,_ please be quiet! You don't want to wake up the whole house."

Feliciano gulped. _Oh no...he's here too? _He slowly backed away from the door, doing his best not to make a sound. _I need to get out of here...but how?_ He looked around the room and saw the window as an option. But being as they're on the second floor, Feliciano didn't want to take his chances on making too much noise.

"Lovi, _mi amor,_ let's go to sleep. You two should do the same. We'll settle this all in the morning," Antonio said in a low voice. Francis sighed. "I suupose you're right. Let's all get some sleep. Until tomorrow, everyone." After hearing what seemed like everyone returning to their rooms, Feliciano peered into the dark hallway. He looked both ways, making sure no one was around. Then, as quietly as he could, he walked down the hallway. However, as he went past the kitchen, he saw that the light was on and heard the faucet running. He quickly walked past the doorway, hoping that whoever was in there wouldn't see him.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Feliciano's heart froze at the voice. He gulped and turned around. Those eyes. Those cold, blue eyes. Feliciano could feel himself backing away from the blonde.

"I-I...I-I'm sorry...Ludwig...I'm so sorry!" the Italian shouted with tears in his eyes as ran further down the hallway, praying to God that Ludwig wouldn't follow behind him. Ludwig stayed where he was, only watching.

"You should follow him."

Ludwig turned around and frowned. "Why should I Kiku? If he wants to run away, just let him run away." Kiku tried his best to smile. "Because, he'll only listen to you." Ludwig shook his head. "No. I'm not going after him. I'm going to bed, you should too."

"I won't go anywhere until you come to terms with Feliciano-kun."

"Why can't you and everyone else just leave it the way it is!" Ludwig shouted. "If he wants to die, then just let him die!"

"I won't allow it." Kiku said, raising his voice and his eyes now cold. "And neither will Lovino-san, or anyone else for that matter. You know very well that deep inside, you're nothing without him."

_'Goddammit! Listen to him! He's right!' _the voice in Ludwig's head screamed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ludwig countered.

"If it weren't for Feliciano-kun, you...you'd still be all alone!"

_Damn you...just go now and follow him! You know it's what you want and you know it's the right thing to do!_

"He left me once...and it doesn't matter because he's already gone. The Feliciano I knew died with our alliance."

"You just don't understand it, do you? Feliciano-kun surrendered to protect us!" Ludwig's eyes widened as he backed away in disbelief. "You're lying...he's an idiot! Since when would he come up with such an idea!"

"Al-chan told me about what happened that day, and so did Elizabeta-san and Roderich-san!" Kiku reasoned, trying to keep down his voice. "He agreed to side with the Allies to save us!"

"That's bullshit!"

"Both of you be quiet!"

The two former Axis allies turned around to see Roderich, who was half awake. "Roderich-san! I'm sorry we-" "-it's okay, Kiku. Just go back to sleep. I'll talk to him." Roderich cut in. The Japanese man merely nodded and walked back into the darkness of the hallway. "Here, let's go sit down in the living room." Roderich said as he motioned for the blonde to follow him. As he followed, Ludwig couldn't help but shake the feeling that someone else was watching them. However, he ignored this the moment they walked into the living room and sat down facing each other. Roderich wiped his face with his hand and let out a deep sigh.

"Alright then...where to begin..." he said thoughtfully. Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "Just tell me if Kiku was right or not."

"He was. It's just that...let me start from the beginning." Roderich cleared his throat.

"Even though they were on opposing sides, Francis and Feliciano kept in contact with each other. They are brothers after all. One day, Francis told him that they were planning on launching an attack on you and Kiku unless he surrendered to them. Basically, his choices were to be attacked along with you and Kiku, or to surrender himself. Now, he was confused on what to do, so he came to me for adivce. I simply told him to do what he thought was best. And well...you should know the story from there."

The blonde stared at the ground. "I still don't understand."

Roderich sighed. "Well, I guess there's a little more to it that you don't know. You see, the moment Feliciano surrendered, he was told to declare war with Kiku. However, he was also assigned to declare war on you, which, you should know this already too. But, he was given some options he had to consider carefully. They told him that either he attacks you in the name of the Allies, or they would do it themselves."

"And your point?"

"My point is that he had to choose whether or not he should attack you, rather than have the Allies do it. You might not know this, and you might not believe me, but what I'm about to say is the truth. The reason Feliciano attacked you two was to protect you. He figured that since he's 'weak,' it wouldn't cause as much damage to you if he attacked, rather than having someone like Ivan, or Alfred to do so."

Ludwig could feel ever muscle in his body freeze at Roderich's words. "...wouldn't cause as much damage..." he repeated slowly to himself.

_But didn't Feliciano know how much that hurt Kiku...how much it hurt me?_

"That's just how it is. That's why I hold no ill will towards that boy, and neither does Kiku or Elizabeta." Roderich then looked at the door. "And just how long have you been standing there Elizabeta?"

To Ludwig's surprise, Elizabeta walked through the door, her skin pale from the cold air and her eyes filled with tears. "I went outside to see if I could find him..." she said quietly, her voicing cracking, "but I...I couldn't find him."

"I need to get some air." The blonde stood up from where he was sitting and walk towards the doorway. He paused for a brief moment, and let out a sigh. "Roderich...Elizabeta...I'm sorry..." he said quietly, not daring to look at either of them. "Ludwig, it's safe to say that we're not the ones you should be apologizing to." Roderich responded quietly before Ludwig left. However, another voice stopped the blonde before he headed out the front door.

"Take this, West. It's cold out there."

Ludwig turned around to see Gilbert, holding out a black cloak. Reluctantly, Ludwig reached out to it and put it on. The older one stared at the other, penetrating him with his red eyes. "I know you don't want to find him, but if you do, please bring him back." Ludwig thought for a moment, as if he was hesitant to leave. "I'll think about it...bruder..."

* * *

Feliciano had gathered up some wood he found laying around in the sand and did his best to start a small fire. After running around Austria, he found a small, quiet beach far away from Roderich's house. As he walked along the shore, he discovered small caverns at the edge of the beach. To be completely honest, Feliciano was terrified of them. They were cramped up and dark to the point where he couldn't see the other end, if there was another end. However, he figured that if he lit a small fire, it would partially illuminate the cavern.

As few small, red embers flickered and grew. He stared into the red flame, as if he was going to get lost within it.

_(A/N: WARNING! suicide-attempt scene! skip over it if you wish)_

_~Flashback~_

_He left the bathroom and stumbled into the living room of the abandoned cabin, a crimson red trail trickling behind him as he took each step. His original wound was now re-opened, but for him, it wasn't enough. Even though both his arms were dyed from his shoulders to his wrists with scars and red pigments, it wasn't enough. Feliciano still held the blood stained blade in his hand. He placed it on a nearby table and began to unbuckle his pants. He pulled them down just below his knees at sat down on the floor. He hastily grabbed the blade, holding it to his thigh. At first, he was slightly hesitant. He had never tried to cut in such a place before. However, he easily shook of his doubts and glided the blade over his skin, leaving more red lines that bloomed into tiny puddles on his thighs. They spilled over, dripping onto the wooden floor. _

_'Strange,' he thought, 'it doesn't hurt like it does on my arms...'_

_With that thought in mind, he began to cut even more, each cut being deeper and longer than the last until both of his thighs were completely red. But that could never been enough. If he wasn't already used to this amount of blood, he would've thrown up easily. However, he had grown used to the metalic smell. He then stared into the fire he built earlier, and then looked at the jug of kerosene he used to get the fire going._

_Instantly...what Feliciano would call a "brilliant idea" popped into his head._

_Without a moment to waste, he grabbed the jug of kerosene and splashed it all around the living room. Then finally, with what seemed like the last of his strength, he grabbed a box of matches that sat on top of the fireplace. He took out a single match, and held it out in front of him, gazing at it. Then he smiled._

_"Burn...I want it all to burn away...I want it all to burn..."_

_Within a mere 10 seconds, nearly half of the house was engulfed in flames. Feliciano layed on the floor, waiting for death to take him away. The smoke spilled into the room, corrupting his thoughts even more. Now all that was left was a distorted mind, unable to acknowledge the reality that was death coming for him._

_~End flashback~_

Feliciano shivered due to the cold night air. _Maybe I should've brought a jacket or something, _he thought as he hugged his knees to his chest. He slightly smiled at the fire, remembering when he, Ludwig and Kiku were stranded on that damned island, and how the Allies attacked them, how they retreated as fast as they attacked, when they found Yao's vacation house, building sand sculptures and other fun memories.

"It was fun...wasn't it..." he said softly, his voice barely a whisper. He let out a yawn before laying down on his side. He needed his sleep if he wanted to run further away tomorrow.

* * *

Ludwig, lost in his own thoughts, was no longer aware of where he was walking. He just knew that he couldn't stand to be in that house for too long. After all, being in one place for too long has a tendency to make you go crazy. He then wondered if that was why he felt himself going crazy when he was still allied with our favorite Italian. He would always be dragged around into something crazy.

_But is being with the same person...and staying in the same place the same thing?_

After a while, the blonde noticed that he was far from Roderich's house. But being that he has visited Austria numerous times, he knew where he was and how he could find his way back.

_So far, no sign of him..._

Ludwig paused and quickly shook his head. "What the hell am I thinking?" he asked aloud. Of course, no one would be there to answer for him. He simply shrugged it off before continuing to walk. Before he knew it, he found himself at a small beach and saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye...

* * *

A/N: Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed another chapter :D It seemed short to me, so sorry if this disappoints some of you D:

In conclusion: Does this mean that Ludwig really is looking for Feliciano? And if so, for what reason? Why didn't the others run after him? Is this all part of their "plan"? And will Feliciano try to commit suicide once more? Are these foreshadowing schemes or simple questions? Stay tuned! :P

Actually, I need all your opinions on something. A friend brought up an idea of adding mpreg to the story...It's been clawing at the back of my mind, but I wanted to see what you guys think of it. If not enough people voice their opinions on this, I won't add it just because it seems /somewhat/ unneccessary. However, I'm willing to work with it. So if you think it's a good idea, just let me know. Either way, if you have an opinion on this, whether it's a "yes" or "no," please let me know by 7-30-10. You can PM me, leave it in a review, whichever you prefer. Thanks again! See you all next time =)


	16. Visionen im Spiegel

A/N: Hello everyone. While I was writing this, I was listening to Dear You ~Feel~ and Dear You ~Hope~ (from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni), Who Are You? (from the K-drama of the same name), and Saihate Ballad Ver. while writing this ;A;. Lesson: Don't listen to sad songs when writing sad stories. Even though they do help with inspiration XD. Actually, I think the *english* lyrics to both the Dear You songs and Who Are You fit almost perfectly with this story, and when it comes to the HRE/Germany Theory in general. *ahem* Okay, I'm done rambling. Now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 16: Visionen im Spiegel*

The tides eased their way onto and away from the sand. Ludwig found himself drawn to the light on the other side of the beach. Why? He didn't know. He followed it, wondering whether or not if he was crazy doing so. As he got closer, he noticed that it was a cliff with various caverns.

_Would he even be crazy enough to stay there on a cold night like this?_

He finally reached the entrance, he saw that the cave was quite small. He found the light source; a fireplace. He didn't dare to walk into the lighted area and remained in the dark shadows of the cave. His eyes scanned the area until he noticed a familiar person. Ludwig stood a distance from him, watching him as he slept. _He looks so...peaceful..._ As quietly as he could, he sat down with his back against the cavern wall. He let out a loud sigh and watched as the fire flickered.

"Well, this brings back memories..." he said quietly, shivering at the cold.

"Ngh..."

The blonde quickly turned to Feliciano, who was now rubbing his eyes. He slowly looked around the fire, and saw a silhouette. His brown eyes shot open, unable to tell if he was still dreaming or not. He scrambled trying to sit up and tried to back away.

"G-g-go away! Get away from me!" he cried in fear. _Who is he? And what does he want with me?_

Ludwig slowly got up, trying his best not to frighten him up any more than he already had, but to no avail.

_Shit...I have to think of something...they all want him back home..._

Feliciano was now crying, shaking with fear. However, he didn't know why he was so afraid. Even though the fire brighten up the area around him, he couldn't recognize the blonde. It was simply too dark. "Shh. I'm not here to hurt you," the blonde said with a low voice as he extended his hand, only to have the brunette smack it away.

_No, no, no. It can't be Ludwig, can it? He wouldn't look for me. But then...who is this person?_

"Fine, have it your way." Ludwig barked as he retreated to the cavern wall, remaining standing.

"I don't know who you are."

_Not this again..._Ludwig thought as he facepalmed. "What are you talking about?" Feliciano hugged his knees to his chest, his eyes only looking at the ground, his body still shaking. "Who are you?" he asked again. Ludwig gave him a puzzled looked. But then he realized that Feliciano was there by the light, and he was in the dark. So how could he know? _Maybe it's better if he doesn't recognize me. At least he won't run away._

"I don't know who you are...with the way you speak and act, you're like my friend, Ludwig. With the way you look, you're Holy Roman Empire. Can you tell me, is this a dream?" Feliciano took a nearby stick and started to draw circles in the sand. "Even though I can barely see what you look like, from what I can see..." he said, his voice starting to crack, "I...I just can't tell who you are."

_But he already knows the answer to that himself...doesn't he?_

The blonde remained puzzled, until he realized how he looked. His hair wasn't slicked back like usual, and his brother did give him a black cloack before he left the house...Ludwig gulped. _Maybe I should play along._ "You're right. This is only a dream." He heard the Italian sigh with relief. "...but what if I really am this 'Holy Roman Empire?' What would you do?"

"I don't know," the Italian replied, still drawing circles. "He promised to come back to visit me as soon as the war was over. The war ended a really long time ago, so for him to only come back now...hm...maybe I'd be mad at first, but in the end, I'd be really happy." He smiled lightly and looked at the circles he drew. "Yup, that's how it would be."

Ludwig felt his body shaking and his breathing becoming more rapid._ Why am I so nervous? _He gulped again. "Then what if I was 'Ludwig?' Then what would you do?"

"That's a different story," Feliciano said, his voice seeming more quiet. "I'd probably run away."

The blonde frowned. "This is probably a stupid question...but why would you run away?" Ludwig said, now looking away as if he truly didn't want to hear the answer. _Why do I feel like this...?_

"Because...I did something bad to him."

The blonde's eyes widened as Feliciano continued to explain. "Deep down, I know he doesn't like to be alone, and that he gets really lonely no matter how many dogs he has and how awesome his brother is." Okay, that last one made him facepalm a bit, but he continued to listen. "But I abandoned him anyway!" Feliciano started to cry again. "And then I hurt him really bad! Since the beginning of our friendship, I only caused trouble for him! No wonder he hates me so much!"

At first, Ludwig didn't know what to say. Should he let the poor boy to continue to cry? It wasn't his place to say anything, right? But...Gilbert _did_ say to bring him back home. This was his chance to get him back to Roderich's house. "Maybe...you should stop making everyone worry. You should stop running away. That way, you won't be troubling anyone."

"B-but what if no one wants to forgive me?" Feliciano cried as he did his best to wipe away his tears. "You never know unless you ask them." Ludwig said, obviously annoyed.

"If you were Ludwig...would you forgive me?" he asked weakly.

_Goddamn...he had to ask such a question..._

Ludwig crossed his arms. "Um...well...I'm not sure how he feels. But I can guess that he's probably still upset about it."

"Oh..." was all Feliciano could say. "I see..." The blonde felt his face warming up as he kept looking away from the Italian. But was it due to impatience or embarrassment? He didn't know. "Well, maybe you just need to give him time...because maybe deep down, he wants the same thing you do."

"You think so?" Feliciano asked with a small voice full of hope. "Like I said, you'll never know unless you ask."

Feliciano smiled, his eyes now half open. "That'd be nice. That'd be really..." Ludwig turned to face him, only to see that he drifted back to sleep. He scoffed, then felt a small smile tug at his lips.

"You really are troublesome." he whispered. He proceeded to put out the fire. He then took off his cloak, and wrapping it around Feliciano. But the most difficult task was picking him up. After all, it's hard to pick up dead weight. However, once Ludwig gathered the sleeping man in his arms, he swung him over his shoulder, making him easier to carry. He stumbled taking the first few steps, but gradually started to walk at a normal pace.

_At least now they can all get off my back._

* * *

"Here, just put him in our bed." Roderich said as the blonde carried him onto the bed. "At least this way, we'll know for sure if he tries to get away."

Elizabeta sighed with relief. "I'm glad you found him. Thank you and..." the Hungarian took a moment to look at Ludwig, who looked extremely tired. "...I'm sorry about what I did earlier. I was just..."

"...I know, you were upset. It's okay, I understand." the blonde said quickly. The Hungarian's face lit up. "You...you finally understand?"

"I'm not sure," Ludwig said, looking away.

Roderich let out a sigh. "Elizabeta and I will be sleeping in the spare room. You should get to bed too." The blonde shook his head. "No, I'll stay in here. I have a feeling that he'll have a lot of questions when he wakes up." The Austrian smiled as he turned off the lights, leaving the room to be partially illuminated by the natural moonlight fluttering through the window. "That's fine. Just get some rest. Let's go, Elizabeta." She nodded happily as she followed behind him. Ludwig locked his gaze onto the sleeping Italian, until...

"Oh, Lovino. He's right in-"

"-yes, I know, I know!" the older Italian answered irritably as he swung open the door, hard enough for Ludwig to wince. "Get the fuck away from my brother, now! You've done enough." Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to leave him." Lovino let out a demented laugh. "First, you practically throw him away, and now you won't leave him alone? Bullshit!"

Feliciano shifted to his side and moaned lightly, causing Ludwig to shush the older Italian. "I'm not leaving, and that's final," the blonde responded in a low whisper. Lovino sat down on the bed with his back against the headboard. "Hmph, fine. But I won't leave either."

Awkward silence.

Lovino closed his eyes, as Ludwig leaned his back against the wall, sinking down until he hit the floor. "Hey, bastard, you listening?" the older Italian whispered. Ludwig closed his eyes. "Yeah, I hear you." he whispered back.

Unknowingly to the blonde, the older Italian looked at him. "I know you didn't have to go after him...but you did anyway. Even though I'm thankful that he's back...I can't help but wonder why you actually went to go get him."

"Don't get your hopes up. I only wanted everyone off my back. There's no special reason." Ludwig said quickly, trying to cover up the nervousness in his voice.

"Hmph, fine. Keep lying to yourself. Lying can only get you so far, y'know." Lovino countered with a cocky voice. "Besides, a little while ago, you didn't want to be involved with him at all, and now you won't leave him. You're even more pathetic than I thought." The blonde scoffed and covered his face with one hand. "Whatever you say." The older Italian let out a low chuckle. "Damn...and to think I was going to let my brother pursue a pathetic guy like you. If you want to be with him, you're going to have to change that attitude of yours."

"Tch...like I said, don't get your hopes up."

_...Just who am I kidding?_

* * *

~The Dream~

He didn't know where he was or why he was there. He just knew it was dark. Dark and cold. Ludwig sat in the darkness, the cold atmosphere numbing his entire body.

_How long have I been here...I wonder..._

He felt as if there was no escape from that place. It was almost like he was forever chained to this world. It had been so long since he was able to talk that he forgot what his own voice sounded like. He wasn't even sure if he could talk.

Suddenly a warm hand reached out to him.

"Ve~ Let's be friends!" said a cheerful voice. Ludwig's eyes narrowed.

_Should I trust this person?_

"I've never had a real friend before. When I'm in a pinch, you can save me. And when you're in a pinch, I can save you. C'mon, let's be friends~"

_Friends...huh...I don't have friends either...but can I trust this person?_

"Huh? Don't you want to be friends with me?"

_I don't know if I should..._

"I know it must be hard to be lonely. I've always been controlled over people, so I know how that feels. So let's be friends, okay?"

_"No."_

At least, that's what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. Please, give me another chance."

_No._

His lips moved and his voice struggled to make a sound, only for him to say,

"I...I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Ve~Here, let's go." the voice said, offering their hand once more. Ludwig gave a confused look. "Where are we going to go?" The blonde's eyes widened as the darkness faded away, being replaced with light. In front of him was a familiar, smiling face.

The face he had been longing to see this whole time.

"F-feliciano..."

The Italian smiled at him warmly and offered his hand once more. "C'mon Ludwig. Let's go somewhere that's warm. We can go together." Without any hesitation, Ludwig took hold of his hand as Feliciano led them out of the cold. His hand was the warmth Ludwig needed. The blonde tightened his hold on Feliciano's hand. He never wanted to let go of it ever again.

* * *

When Ludwig woke up that morning, something warm was surrounding him. He opened his eyes to see that he was still on the floor. However, someone had put a blanket on him. He pulled it off of him and rubbed his face with his hand. The morning sunlight flickered through the curtains. The door was slightly open, so he could hear the kitchen noises from where he was sitting. The blonde then looked at the bed, only to see Feliciano-and only Feliciano-sound asleep. He was shifting around in the bed, whimpering as tears trickled down his face. Ludwig reached out to him and attempted to wipe his tears away, only to have brown eyes flutter open and stare at him.

At first, Feliciano was startled at the sight of the blonde, until he noticed something he was wearing. The black cape. The Italian buried his face in his pillow. Ludwig smoothed his hand over Feliciano's shaking shoulders.

"...t-there's something I want to tell you...Feliciano..." he said as calmly as possible.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry Ludwig!" Feliciano said as he shot up from the pillow, revealing his tear filled eyes and red face.

_What?_

Ludwig covered his red face with one hand. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked suddenly.

Feliciano began to cry. "Because I hurt you so much! I'm sorry Ludwig! I deserved getting hurt by you!" That last reason left a stinging sensation in Ludwig's chest, and he felt his stomach tighten at those words.

"Don't say such things." was all the blonde could say. "B-but I hurt you and left you all alone!" Feliciano cried.

"But I left you first!" the blonde bursted, not even realizing what he had just said. Feliciano gave him a confused look. "W-what are you talking about...I don't..." Ludwig then cupped the Italian's face with his hands as more tears trickled down his face. "I-I'm...I'm sorry it took me so long to remember you...I'm sorry that I forgot my promise to you...I'm sorry that I forgot that I was-"

Ludwig was cut off by Feliciano, whose face was now buried in his chest and his arms wrapped around him. The blonde could feel the Italian's tears through his shirt. "Y-you remember now, right?" he shouted, his voice muffled with his cries. "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner! Can you forgive me Ludwig?"

Ludwig gulped as Feliciano pulled away and wiped his face. He then avoided eye contact with the Italian. "I don't know if we can go back to the way we were before...but...I'd like to forget everything start over...if that's okay with you."

For the longest time, Feliciano didn't respond to this. However, he smiled and held out his hand. "Hello. My name is Feliciano Vargas. What's yours?" Ludwig facepalmed at his actions, but quickly took hold of Feliciano's hand, his face crimson red and played along.

"My name is Ludwig Beilschimidt." Feliciano let out a light laugh, being happy that Ludwig was playing along.

"Ve, I've been wanting a friend for a long time, so do you think we could be friends?" he asked innocently. "When I'm in a pinch, you'll save me and I'll do the same for you? So what do you say?"

Ludwig held his other hand to his chin, trying to look thoughtful. "I don't know...it sounds tempting..." He then looked at the Italian, who had a somewhat disappointed look on his face. "...Sure. I haven't had a real friend either." Feliciano let out a small "yay!" and smiled. "Ve~! So then let's promise to be each other's friend, okay?"

"Alright then." Ludwig then put his hand over his heart, never had letting go of Feliciano's hand. "I, Ludwig Beilschmidt, promise to be your friend and save you when you're in trouble." Feliciano, with a determined sparkle in his eyes, imitated Ludwig by placing his hand over his heart. "I, Feliciano Vargas, promise to be your friend and save you when you're in trouble." He then smiled once more. "There. That should do it, right Ludwig?"

For once, with his own choice, Ludwig smiled.

"Yeah, that should do it."

Feliciano laughed at this. "Ve~ Ludwig, you look nice when you smiles. You should smile more often!" Ludwig covered his face with his hand. "Don't say things like that!"

"C'mon, let's tell everyone that we're friends again!" Feliciano dragged Ludwig to the living room, much to the blonde's protests. Throughout all of Lovino's shouting, Roderich's lecturing and Gilbert's teasing, Ludwig noticed that Feliciano was holding on to his hand that whole time.

* * *

~Later that day~

Roderich had already said his farewells to his "guests," who all went back to their respective homes. He then let out a sigh of relief and walked into his room, only to find Elizabeta ransacking through the dresser. "I can't believe this happened!" she kept muttering to herself. Roderich let out a loud cough, to let her know of his presence. However, she only shrugged him off. "Not now Roderich! There's something important I'm looking for!" The Austrian let out a sigh. "Is it important enough for you to mess up our dressers?"

"I still can't believe it! This is making me so...urgh!"

"Elizabeta, what's making you so worked up?" Roderich asked, now curious on what she could be looking for.

"This wasn't suppose to happen!" she shouted again, now searching through a different drawer. "What happened?" Roderich asked more calmly. "Those two! They're not suppose to be friends!" Roderich shot her a blank stare. "I thought the plan was to get those two together and-"

"-yeah, but not _that_ kind of together Roderich! Ha! Found it!"

All Roderich could do was stare at her with a confused look on his face. "What in the world are you talking about?" Elizabeta smiled proudly as she held a book in front of his face. It was entitled, _Memories of the Moonlight_."In this story, two men torn apart from war are brought back together through their love for each other."

Roderich facepalmed. "Elizabeta...is that another one of those yaoi novels Kiku gave you?"

"Yes, and I'm mad that Ita-chan didn't have an ending with Ludwig like in this story!"

Roderich let out an annoyed sigh. "That's it...I'm telling Kiku to never give you those books anymore..."

* * *

A/N:

*Visionen im Spiegel- Visions in the Mirror

In conclusion: So that's it? No make up kiss or anything? Is this the end?

It's not over yet. Just because they made up doesn't mean they won't have any...moments. Well, that's it for this chapter. I added that last little bit as a reference to my friend, who basically had the same reaction as Elizabeta ^^; By the way, that title "Memories of the Moonlight" is something I came up with listening to random piano songs XD. Anyways I feel there's more to add. And about the mpreg thing...I've decided against it, going with my original instincts. Either way, the vote was like, 85% no so far. Sorry to those who wanted it D; However...I still got something up my sleeve...there will be a little "surprise" in the next couple of chapters that includes: even more confessions (yes, I know, everyone's keeping secrets from everyone...why can't they just tell the truth?), moments for certain pairings, roles for the other characters of Hetalia (FINALLY! XD) and a little bit (I promise it's just a little bit, since I don't want to be flamed) of crossdressing. So what will happen to our favorite characters? Stay tuned and find out :P


	17. Kenshin

A/N: Thank you to those who have been reviewing this! You have no idea how much it means to me. Your reviews are the sole reason for why I'm continuing this, otherwise I would've ended the story at Ch. 3 *cries tears of happiness ;A;* Anyways, I hope you enjoy another chapter :D

* * *

Chapter 17: Dedication

Ludwig and Gilbert were near their house, both longing for a day of peace. "Well West, I have to say," Gilbert said, patting his brother on his back, "I'm proud of you." Ludwig gave him a confused look. "For what?" The older let out a light laugh. "You finally got that stick out of your ass! Kesesese~ I'm glad you and Feli are on good terms." The blonde rolled his eyes. Gilbert smirked, then proceeded to elbow his brother playfully. "So...when are you and Feli taking it to the next level, hn?" Ludwig let out a loud cough, giving Gilbert a "death glare." "What the hell are you talking about?" Gilbert let out a cocky laugh. "Well, you see, there's friends, then there's best friends then there's _more_ than friends, if you get my drift." The blonde heaved a sigh. "Gilbert, there's no way I'm gonna-"

"-pft, don't lie to yourself West. You can't keep up the facade for long, y'know. You'd have to be as awesome as me to pull it off." Ludwig mentally facepalmed._ Mein gott...what did I do to deserve such a brother?_

"Besides," Gilbert continued, much to Ludwig's annoyance, "you fell for him once-twice, actually-so...you know," he said, giving Ludwig a teasing wink, nudging him once more. "If you don't shut up now, I'll have Berlitz rip you to shreds when we get home!" the blonde barked. Gilbert winced at the thought, remembering the last time Ludwig had sent Berlitz chasing after him.

As they approached the house, they could hear innocent laughter coming from the backyard. Gilbert got out his keys and opened the door. "So who'd you get to watch the house?" Ludwig asked as they walked in. "Don't worry about it," the older one replied. "I'm going to go change really quick. Go check on the dogs, West." Gilbert had already began to unbutton his shirt as he headed toward his room. Ludwig proceeded to go to the refridgerator to grab a beer. He really needed one. When he opened the door, he saw that they were well stocked on grocceries, more than what Gilbert had bought before they left.

"O-oh, Ludwig. Hello." said a voice from behind him.

He turned around and saw blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses. "Oh, Matthew. Uh...hello." Matthew sighed with relief. "Wow, I didn't expect you to remember me." Ludwig let out a small cough and took a mental note that Matthew's clothes were dripping wet. "Of course I know who you are. You're one of the only people I can't get Gilbert to stop talking about." Matthew blushed at this. "Oh...sorry, I didn't think he'd be so-"

"-it's no problem." Ludwig cut in. "It's just how he is." Matthew nodded. "Oh! Um...I gave the dogs a bath and I did some groccery shopping and I..."

"Yes, I noticed. Thank you." Ludwig responded, taking a sip of beer. "I guess I'll go change out of these. Excuse me." As Matthew headed for the guest bedroom, he paused halfway and turned around to face the German. And smiled. "By the way, I heard from Gilbert. Congratulations on your renewed friendship." This time, Ludwig was the one who blushed. He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Um...thanks." With a smiled, Matthew went inside the room to change. As Ludwig finished up his beer, he heard his brother's voice.

"Oh, Matthew! Thanks again for coming by on short notice."

"N-no problem Gilbert." Matthew replied shyly.

"But I have to admit...I'm starting to feel a little guilty, since you finally got over that cold."

_Mein bruder? Guilty? Well, that's new._

"It's fine, really! I don't mind it, honest."

"Thanks again." Ludwig could hear the sincerity in his brother's voice. _Strange,_ he thought. "Y'know, I feel like I'm always taking advantage of your kindness, and I know I don't say this much...but I really do appreciate it."

"I know you do. Gilbert...I love you."

"I-I-I l-love you too..."

_He's a good kid. But I don't see why he'd pick my brother of all people..._

The blonde headed to the backyard to find his dogs running around, still trying to get dry. He whistled at them, only to receive a warm welcome from them. "H-hey, calm down!" The dogs obediently listened to their master and ceased their "welcome back!" routine. Ludwig let out a content sigh.

_It's really good to be home._

_

* * *

_

_~Elsewhere in Europe, several days later...~_

"Ne, fratello. Let's do something fun together!" Feliciano bursted as Lovino was watering his tomato garden. "Yeah? Like what?" The younger gave the other a thoughtful look. "Ve~I was thinking that we could go on a vacation!" Lovino gave him a confused look. "What? Now? We can't, you're still recovering." Feliciano looked at him with his puppy dog eyes. _Damn it, _Lovino thought. He let out an annoyed scoff. "Besides, where the hell would we go?"

"Let's go to our beach house!" Feliciano chirped. "We haven't been there in a really long time!" Lovino let out a light laugh as he turned off the watering hose. "I guess we haven't been around there. It's been what? Over 20 years since we've been there?" Feliciano nodded happily. "Ne, how about we invite Antonio too?" The older Italian nearly tripped upon hearing that question. "Hold on! I didn't even say we can go yet!"

"Please fratello? It'd be fun if more people went along with us!"

Lovino's face grew red. "T-that's...um...fine." The younger Italian let out a small "yay" before going back to thinking.

"Hm...can we invite Elizabeta and Roderich too?"

"I suppose so," Lovino replied, now taking down the clothes that were left to dry. "Besides, we kinda owe them a vacation." Lovino pointed at a basket near the back door. "Hey, hand me that, will you?" Feliciano nodded and did as his older brother told him. "In that case, let's invite Kiku and Alfred. They helped a lot, too!"

Lovino faceplamed. "I guess there's no stopping you from inviting them, too. Fine."

"And then, we can invite Gilbert and Lud-"

"-hold it!" Lovino cut in. "You're going to have to let me think about that last one. However, I suppose Gilbert's fine." Feliciano pouted and whined as if he was a five year old who was just told that he couldn't buy a toy he had wanted. "But he's my friend! And he helped too!" The older Italian scoffed. "I'll think about it and let you know at dinner." The younger looked at the ground with slumped shoulders. "That means 'no'..." he mumbled. Lovino crossed his arms and smirked. "Well, if we're going to take a vacation, we're going to have to make plans. Which means..." he then shifted his attention to his brother, who was now looking at him with curious eyes. "...you're going to have to call everyone you want to invite." Feliciano's face lit up. "Really? Thank you fratello!" He proceeded to hug his brother, who uncomfortably complied. "We have to plan out when we're going, okay? I don't want you to rush yourself. You need to recover first, got it?"

"Yes, fratello. I can't believe it! We're going on a vacation! I just have to call Francis and-"

"-since when were we inviting that bastard?"

Feliciano cocked his head to the side. "Don't you remember? He's been taking care of that house for us all these years. I have to let him know that we plan on using it." Lovino squatted where he was standing, with a depressive look on his face. "Damn...I just _know_ he's going to want to stay over when we're there..."

_

* * *

_

_~Elsewhere...~_

"I'm glad it all turned out for the best." Roderich said as he took a sip of tea. Elizabeta smiled as he set up the plates. "Well, even though it's not what I hope would happen, I can't help but feel happy for them." Roderich let out a sigh. "You can't expect them to do such things after...all that's happened to them." The Hungarian shrugged. "I guess you're right. But still, it would've been nice. As Lovino said, Ita-chan deserves happiness, and I'm hoping that he'll get it."

"I know, I know. But he's happy with the way things are now. It's up to him on whether or not he goes forward or keeps everything the same."

"I guess. I-" Elizabeta quickly covered her mouth with her hand, accidentally dropping the plate that was in her hand on the floor. It shattered into pieces upon impact, but that's not what caused Roderich to shoot up from his seat. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern. Elizabeta shook her head. "Excuse me!" she said, rushing out of the room. Roderich proceed to follow after her, walking rapidly behind her in the hallway. That is, until she slammed the bathroom door behind her. Roderich put his ear to the door, but quickly pulled away once he heard obvious sounds of retching.

"Do you want me to take you to a doctor?" he asked hesitantly.

"N-no! I'm f-fine, really! I'm j-just-" She continued to throw up, unable to finish her sentence. "This has been going on for several days, hasn't it?" Roderich asked. He could only hear a slight, "uh-huh" from her. "Have you had a fever? Or had the chills?"

"N-no..."

Then it dawned to him. Upon realizing such a possiblity, his face turned crimson red. "Elizabeta...have you had your..." Roderich did his best to ask this gently, search his mind for the right word to use. "...um, have you had your monthly?"

Silence. Penetrating silence.

Slowly, Elizabeta opened the door, keeping half of her body hidden behind it. However, she opened it all the way when she realized that she wasn't the only one blushing. "...n-no...I haven't..." Roderich sighed once more. "H-how long has it been?" Elizabeta looked away in embarrassment. "I-It's b-been about seven weeks..."

_So then...does that mean...?_

"Um...Roderich..." Elizabeta said nervously. "Yes? What is it?"

"Um...to be honest...I've been having strange cravings lately...I didn't want you to worry about it, so I never said anything...but..." Roderich gulped. "And...um..." Elizabeta continued, "...well, should we be happy or-"

"-o-of course! I mean, yes. This is good news!" Roderich replied quickly, his cheeks getting redder. "It's just that...well, this would be our first..."

"...our first child...should we go to the doctor just to make sure?"

Without hesitation, Roderich took hold of Elizabeta's hand. "Yes."

* * *

Roderich sat in the waiting room, legs crossed and hands folded. The ticking clock next to the receptionist's desk was slowly starting to annoy him, each tick echoing in his mind. He glanced around the room for the twenty seventh time. Who knew just seven minutes seemed to be an eternity? _Calm down,_ he thought. _She's just taking a pregnancy test._ Sitting next to him was another man. His face looked as if he was about to die and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. To Roderich's surprised, the man had turned to him. He gulped and looked at Roderich in the eyes.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Um...sure..." was all Roderich could say. The man gulped nervously again, his eyes constantly shifting. "Well...I don't mean to be pouring out my life on you but...if you and another person were in a relationship and you're going to have a kid with that person...and you're not married...what would you do?" Roderich gulped and adjusted his collar. "Well then, I guess that makes two of us."

"Oh...I see...how long have you known her?"

"It's been a very long time." Roderich replied as he shifted in his seat. "I've known her since we were kids. And you?" The other man sighed. Roderich then noticed that he had a ring on his left hand. "I've know her since high school. We started dating our second year, and got married after college. But our marriage got rocky and she decided to call it quits. And now...we're...well, we're trying to make amends. But she doesn't want to get remarried." Roderich nodded. "I can understand. I'm in a...well, you can say that our situations are similar. We were married before, but for business reasons. Then we ended up filing for an annulment, so it was as if our marriage never was. However, we're still seeing each other...it's just that...well, both of us agreed to keep our relationship the way it is now. But..." The other man cocked an eyebrow. "You want to remarry and she doesn't?" Roderich shifted so that his arm was proped up on the arm of the chair and rested his head on his balled up hand. "Well...I plan on proposing to her, because I believe a woman shouldn't have to take care of a child alone."

"Excuse me, Mr. Edelstein?" A woman in a white lab coat asked upon entering the waiting area. "Yes?" he asked as he stood up. "One of our patients, Elizabeta Herdevary, would like you to accompany her in the examination room." Roderich nodded and looked at the other man, who still looked grim. "Good luck to you, sir. I hope you two will come up with a compromise. Please excuse me."

* * *

Neither of them were speaking, just walking along the road as late autumn leaves were dragged across the pavement by the warm wind. Roderich had attempted to tug at her hand, only to have her move her hand away. "Elizabeta, don't get me wrong. I really am happy that this-"

"-I know." Elizabeta cut in. "I know, and I'm happy, too. It's just that..." The Hungarian stopped walking, Roderich stopping two steps ahead of her. He turned around to face her, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm really happy that I get to have this child, _your_ child...I'm just scared. And right now I feel stupid!" Roderich walked so that their faces were almost perfectly aligned. "Why would you feel that way?" he asked gently. "Because!" she bursted. "I was willing to fight Sadiq and Gilbert when we were younger! I wasn't afraid of getting hurt! And I feel stupid because now, of all times, I'm really scared!" Roderich cupped her face with his hands, then proceeded to put a hand behind the back of her head. He gently pushed her head forward so that she was able to cry on him, not caring if anyone saw. He smoothed his hand over her head. "It's okay to be scared. But we're going to get through this together. I won't let you do this alone." Elizabeta looked up at him, her face red from embarrassment. "P-promise?" She gulped, her hands shaking. Roderich looked into her eyes, feeling them close as he leaned in and lightly pressed his lips against hers. He pulled apart from her, noticing that her eyes were more calm. "I promise." Roderich sighed. "...Now I'm starting to feel stupid." To Elizabeta's surprise, Roderich smiled. And knelt down on one knee.

"I don't have a ring yet...but Elizabeta Herdevary, will you marry me?"

Her tears of fear were replaced with that of happiness. She covered the lower half of her face with both hands and nodded as she let out a muffled "yes." After calming down, she motioned for Roderich to get up. "Yes, I'll marry you."

* * *

In conclusion: A vacation! Fun, right? And a baby for one of the couples! But how long will it be before everyone else finds out? Is the answer obvious? Or will it be completely unexpected? Stay tuned to find out :D

Okay, that was pretty short, I'll admit. And maybe some things were to be expected...? Oh well. Actually, this chapter was different than how I originally wanted it to be...but now that I think about it, the original idea would've been too random and out of place, so maybe this was better. Some of you are probably wondering, "Why throw in the pregnancy and future marriage (or rather, remarriage) into the story?" Well, my friend said it best when he said, "One thing always leads to another." What that "other thing" is...I'll leave it to your imagination. Although, you all probably already know the outcome. Or at least, you can take a good guess XD On another note, I thought of an idea for another Hetalia fic that will be started when this one is finished, and trust me when I say it will take a while. That story will be more light-hearted and funny with a side of drama. What the plot is...I'll keep it a secret for now. After all, what I discovered while writing this story was this: ideas change over time. So the "plot" for the other fic might change, my stay the same. And to be honest, this fic is basically written on the spot, so god knows what the hell's gonna happen in the rest of this fic and how long it will take (although, I kinda have an idea how long this fic will end up being...but that'll be a secret ;P)

Until next time =)


	18. Chikurin no Kiokutachi

A/N: Hello everyone! We will now switch gears and travel from Europe to Asia! You know what that means? We're now covering the brother relationship between China and Japan. Note: this is taking place at the same time as Ch. 17 (which happened in a time span of several days). Hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry if there's some OOC-ness

* * *

Chapter 18: Memories of the Bamboo Thicket (Chikurin no Kioku)

The moist air didn't mix well with the hot wind. Kiku looked up at the cloud stained sky. _It looks like it's going to rain..._ As they approached the pavilion, it must've been the fourtheen time Alfred had to unbotton his jacket. Kiku noticed his discomfort. "You didn't have to come. I could've done this alone." he said, looking forward. "And what, have him hit you again? I don't think so. I won't let you do this alone." Kiku gave him a glare as Alfred rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Don't worry, I won't say anything, promise! If you want, I'll stay outside." Kiku nodded and stopped walking as they reached the front gate. He felt his heart racing as a small sweatdrop trailed down his face. Hesitantly, Kiku reached out to the door, placing his hand on the knocker.

"What are you doing here uninvited, aru?"

Kiku's whole body stiffened as the voice he had wanted to hear and was afraid of rang in his ears. Yao walked past by both of them, glaring at Alfred, then at Kiku. "Well, aren't you going to tell me why you're here?" Kiku stayed quiet, and Yao smirked. "I thought so, aru. If you have nothing to say, then-"

"Please forgive me!" Kiku shouted as knelt to the ground on both knees, his face practically kissing the ground and his hands centimeters away from his head. At first, Yao was basically taken aback by this, merely staring at the bowing man in front of him. "Tch, you think it's that easy? _Nǐ gěi wǒ gǔn_*!" he barked. "You and your _yáng guǐzi*_," Kiku quickly looked up upon hearing this, "go away!" Hasitly, Yao opened up the door, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. "You can say what you want about me," Kik said darkly, "but don't say anything about Alfred!" The older one scoffed. "How dare you raise your voice at me? _Qù sǐ_!" With that, Yao walked into his home, shutting the door behind him.

The clouds rumbled as small droplets of water fell trickled from the sky. Kiku fell to his knees as his head slightly turned back towards Alfred, who was taking off his jacket. "You can go back now. I plan on staying until I can get him to listen to me." He felt the heavy jacket fall on top of him as the blonde sat down next to him. Alfred adjusted the jacket to make sure that Kiku was protected by the rain. "You surprised me. You're usually not the assertive one," he said calmly as Kiku's eyes were locked on his smile. "But what surprised me the most was that...you said my name, and you stood up for me. Now, I won't let you stay here alone. I'll stay as long as you stay, and I'll leave when you leave." The blonde then face the door of Yao's house and imitated Kiku's way of sitting with a determined look in his eyes.

"But you're going to get sick and-"

"I'm not leaving, and that's final." Alfred turned to Kiku, noticing how pale his face was due to the cold. "I already told you that I won't let you do this alone."

* * *

"_Hyeong_*! Welcome home!" the other man shouted happily as he watched Yao take off his shoes.

"Yong Soo? Who let you in my home, aru?" The Korean let out a playful laugh. "One of your servants did." he replied as he walked to the living room and sat down at the table. "All I had to say was 'I want to see how my hyeong is doing!' and they let me in. Pretty cool, right?" Yao sighed as he put on a pair of house slippers. "By the way," Yong Soo said as he poured some tea, Yao sitting down at the table with him, "I heard you yelling outside. What was that about?" The older of the two quickly looked away. "It's nothing." he said. "It's nothing." Yong Soo frowned. "But I thought I heard Kiku-hyeong outside." he whined. Yao slammed his hand on the table, making the younger one grab his cup before it spilled over. "If you want to see him so bad, leave!"

"Fine, fine. I'd rather be with you anyways," Yong Soo said calmly. _At least, that's what I'd like to think. Oh well, what hyeong doesn't know won't hurt him. _He sipped whatever was in his cup, disappointed that there was little tea left. "Hyeong, can you get me some more tea?" Yao furrowed his brows. "You have two legs, aru. You can get it yourself." Yong Soo flailed his arms like a child. "Aw! Hyeong's being mean! All I want is one cup of tea!"

_He's such a..._

Yao groaned as he got up. "Fine. What tea would you like?"

"I don't know. Surprise me."

_He's so...ugh.._

"By the way, can I use your phone? There's someone I need to talk to."

Yao glared at him. "You just want to freeload off of me, don't you?"

* * *

Dark blue hues were crawling into the cloud stained sky. The rain had let down, but its scent remained in the air. Kiku had sat there, Alfred never leaving him, just as he had promised. "You should really go back. It's getting late." Kiku said as he motioned for the blonde to get up. Alfred shook his head. "Nope, sorry. I'm not leaving until you do." Kiku sighed. Alfred quickly turned around, his eyes scanning the thicket behing them, then slowly turned back. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. Kiku's eyes scanned the area behind them. "Yeah, I've been hearing it for a while now." he replied. "But don't worry, I know who it is." Alfred gave him a confused look. Kiku then cleared his throat.

"Mei Hua*, you can come out now. You too, Xun Feng*." Kiku said calmly, his eyes never leaving the front door of Yao's home. (A/N: These are the human names I use for Taiwan and Hong Kong, which will be further explained.)

Slowly, they walked out of the bamboo thicket, both wearing straw raincoats. Under her arms, Mei Hua carried a large woven basket while her brother had carried what looked like blankets. Mei Hua then rushed over to Kiku, delicately placing the basket down, then proceeded to hug him much to his discomfort. However, he slowly welcomed the hug as Xun Feng walked over towards them. "You idiot! I was almost scared to death when Yong Soo called me!" she shouted, having Xun Feng shush her. "Quiet! They don't know we're here yet!" he half whispered, half shouted as he looked over at Yao's house. Mei Hua quickly nodded, and then looked over at Alfred, who had confusion written all over his face. She smiled politely, and proceeded to bow, Xun Feng doing the same. "Thank you for watching over our brother up to now," they both said in unison. Kiku mentally facepalmed as a blushed found its way to his face. _Did they rehearse this or something?_ Alfred slightly blushed at this and bowed his head slightly. "But we would like to help you now." Xun Feng said quietly as they recovered from the bow. "Yong Soo called us. He's inside _gege's* _house and he said that he heard everything. He's trying to get gege to listen to you." he explained. Mei Hua then turned to Kiku. "He said that you were trying to apologize to gege. Is this true?" Kiku nodded. "Yes, and I plan on staying here until he is willing to listen."

"Surely you can't do this without some help." Xun Feng pointed out. "It's not suitable to stay here at night. You never know if gege might send someone out here to...escort you off the premises." Kiku nodded. "I appreciate your concern, really. But I have to stay here." Mei Hua shook her head. "You should go inside the forest while Xun Feng and I help out Yong Soo with gege. You're old home is still there, so you two will be safe." Alfred raised his eyebrow and looked at Kiku. "Old home?" Kiku nodded. "Before I lived with Yao, I lived in the forest. I made a small hut there, but I didn't think it would last all of these years." Mei Hua crossed her arms. "You should thank us for watching over it all of these years. But you should go soon, before it gets too dark." She then took the basket and handed it to Kiku. "Here, we prepared some food for you. We didn't know how long you would keep this up, and we don't know how long gege will ignore you, so we made a week's worth of food for you." Xun Feng then turned to Alfred. "Here, so you won't get cold at night. There's also some change of clothes folded in the blankets." The blonde slightly bowed his head. "Thank you."

Mei Hua quickly looked at the door, then back at Kiku. "Please, go now. We'll drop by the hut in a couple of days to check up on you." She then hugged Kiku once more, this time, Xun Feng joined in. "Thank you both so much. I'll repay you in the future." Xun Feng shook his head. "We're family. Mei Hua, Yong Soo and I strongly believe in that, so we're willing to help you when we can." Mei Hua smiled. "The three of us love you, and we want the best for this family. Now, go. We'll handle it from here." The three broke away from each other, both Alfred and Kiku standing up. Both pairs bowed to each other as they were heading their seperate ways. Mei Hua glanced over at Alfred and waved her hand. "Please continue to watch over our brother!" Alfred smiled as he waved back. "Don't worry, I will!"

Mei Hua sighed as she watched them walk into the thicket. "I wonder if we'll be able to pull through on our part." she whispered to herself. To her surprise, Xun Feng turned to her. "We've done good so far. Now all we have to do is keep pushing until our goal is reached." She nodded as she faced the door. "Scared?" he asked. "A little. But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to stand up to gege." Xun Feng let out a small laugh, which Mei Hua found a little unusual. "Hm, so you're willing to stand up to him too. Well, this will be interesting. I just hope everything will turn out in our favor."

* * *

"Here, it's this way." Kiku said, leading Alfred into the thicket. The bamboo poles waved and clattered in the wind. To be honest, he was slightly afraid. The sky was already dark, and he constantly felt that they were being followed, unsure if the noises he heard and the figures he saw were just illusions created by the bamboo surrounding them. _Let's see,_ the blonde thought, _two people in the middle of a forest at night, a creepy atmosphere...it's almost like some horror movie..._

"Is something wrong?" Kiku asked as he place his hand on Alfred's shoulder, making him jump. Out of embarrassment, the blonde shook his head. "N-no, everything's fine." Kiku looked at him skeptically. "If you say so. There it is!" he said, pointing at the hut. It was relatively small, but it was big enough for the both of them. As they walked in, Kiku noticed that some furniture was placed inside; furniture he hadn't put there before. Then again, being a child at the time, what could he have fashioned out of the bamboo? Although he was able to make the hut at a young age, he didn't remember it being as elaborate as this. _Those two really did out-do themselves..._

Kiku turned to Alfred, who was gazing around the small home in amazement. Kiku then shrugged, putting the basket on the table. He lifted the lid, revealing all of the containers filled with various pickled vegetables, some fresh fruit, fish, and rice. To his amazement, he took out the various jars, only to reveal even more food. _This is..._

_"We didn't know how long you would keep this up, and we don't know how long gege will ignore you, so we made a week's worth of food for you."_

_This is more than a week's worth...those two..._

"Kiku? Are you okay?"

Kiku quickly looked up at Alfred. "Yes. I'm fine. I'm just...thinking. That's all." Kiku then frowned at pointed at the blonde. "You're soaking wet. I told you to go back. Now you're going to get sick..."

_...all because you lent me your jacket..._

Alfred let out a hearty laugh and stuck out his chest proudly. "Don't worry! It'll take more than a little rain to get me sick!" The blonde walked over to Kiku and pulled him closer to him, making sure that his jacket was still wrapped around him so that the dampness of his clothes wouldn't get him wet. "But the air's cold! What if you get pneumonia or something?" Kiku shouted, only to be shushed by Alfred. "I'll just change my clothes." The blonde then looked down at Kiku, who quickly turned away. "You and your hero complex..." he mumbled. "You know, you really worry me sometimes."

"Haha, sorry. But you know it's because I care, right?" Kiku blushed and nodded his head. "Let's change already and eat something, okay?" Alfred suggested with a smile.

Outside, the clouds rumbled as they travelled across the night sky, blocking the moon's light and leaving shadows everywhere. The pitter patter of the rain started again, but this time, it was more harsh. The ground had become muddy as the rain pounded into it. It was going to be a long night, and both of them knew so.

* * *

The atmosphere had been tense as the three siblings sat across the table from their oldest brother. The tea that was set out hadn't been touch and had cooled. "You want me to _what_?" Yao shouted, causing Mei Hua to grab onto the nearest thing-Yong Soo's arm. "What's wrong gege? Is there a problem with out request?" Xun Feng asked, his eyes never leaving Yao's. "Tch, I can't believe you, aru! To ask me such a thing!" Yong Soo shook his head. "If I can forgive Kiku-hyeong, than you can too!" he said with determined gleam in his eyes. "We've all been hurt by him at some point in our lives, but us three were able to forgive him! Weren't you the one who cried when he chose to leave? Weren't you the one who wanted him to come back?" Yao clenched his fist and slammed it on the table, spilling the tea so that it dripped down to the floor. "Don't you remember that's he's the reason for the scar on my back? He did more than just leave! He betrayed me!" he barked. Mei Hua released her grip on Yong Soo's arm and glared at her eldest brother.

"You're just upset because he didn't love you the same way you loved him."

In an instant, tears left her eyes as Yao's hand swept across her face. Yong Soo quickly rushed over to her to calm her down has Xun Feng grabbed Yao's arm. Yao glared at him and pushed him away, knocking him down to the floor. "Hyeong, what're you-"

_SMACK!_

Mei Hua screamed and backed away, knowing that she's was going to be next. "How dare you say such a thing, you insolent brat!" Mei Hua closed her eyes, afraid of what her brother would do. He reached out to her, her hair tangled in his fist. She cried out in fear, pleading for one of her brothers to help her. "All of you! _Nǐ gěi wǒ gǔn_! Guards! Help me escort them out the door!" Yao commanded as he walked over to the front door, dragging Mei Hua along with him as she tried her best to get out of his grasp. "Hyeong! You're so stubborn! Can't you at least consider it?" Yong Soo shouted as one of Yao's guards grabbed him by the arm. "It's no use," Xun Feng whispered to Yong Soo as a guard took a hold of him. One of Yao's servants opened the door, leaving him to throw Mei Hua into the mud, her whole body being soaked by the rain. The guards proceeded to do the same with Yong Soo and Xun Feng.

"Listen up, all of you!" Yao shouted as the three of them looked up at him. "I have a message for that _brother_ of yours." he said coldy. "If he, or any of you want to be welcomed in this house, you all will have to fight for it! Now, go!" Mei Hua cried, more than she had ever expected to. Yong Soo held her, trying to calm her down. Yong Soo then turned to Xun Feng. "Go ahead." Xun Feng ordered, leaving the two to disappear into the thicket. Xun Feng then glared at Yao. "We'll be back _Yao_, gege no more. Mark my words." Yao scoffed as Xun Feng bowed mocklingly before searching for his siblings in the thicket.

* * *

A/N: Phew, finally done with this chapter ^^; Sorry for being a bit random on this some of you are wondering, why jump to this? and why the hell is America interfering? My answers: 1.) I brought it up in the first chapter, so I might as well get to it and 2.) America is a brown noser, who likes to get into other people's business (not that he doesn't care, but still, that's how he is). Besides, he _does_ have a hero complex. Don't worry, we'll get back to the main story in another chapter or two. And remember, I said in the beginning of this chapter that this takes place at the same time as the previous chapter, so I'm sure this will go out smoothly. Now, for some translation notes:

Nǐ gěi wǒ gǔn- Get out of my sight

yáng guǐzi- "foreign devil"

Qù sǐ- Go die/Go to hell

Hyeong- Korean for older brother. Note: this is only used by males. The female equivalent would be "oppa" (man...I've been watching too many kdramas to know this off the top of my head XP)

Mei Hua- The human name I made up for Taiwan. I've heard that fans use the nickname Meimei (Chinese for "younger sister") or just Mei (Chinese for "plum"), so I built off of that. _Mei _in this case means "beautiful" and _Hua_ means "flower"

Xun Feng- The human name I made up for Hong Kong. I've heard that some Japanese fans use the name "Kaoru" (Japanese for "fragrance") for him, due to the characters that make up "Hong Kong". However, I feel that this doesn't really fit, so instead I based his name off of his outfit and his hair. _Xun_ means "crimson" and _Feng_ means wind (his outfit is red and his hair is kinda messy, like the wind messed it up...at least, that's just my opinion.) Note: in this fic and future fics that I'll end up writing, both Taiwan and Hong Kong share China's last name, which is Wang.

Gege- Chinese for older brother

Again, sorry for some OOC-ness. I didn't know how to portray Taiwan and Hong Kong for this, so sorry! D: Anyways, at first, I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this. In the end, this chapter is actually based off of true events, although, I won't bore you all with that story. Lol, while writing the "intense" scenes, I was listening to the Pokemon OST, y'know, the song from like, the second ep. or something? It's that one song where Ash defends Pikachu from the flock of Spearow XD Lol, music is always inspirational X3 Anyways...

So in conclusion: What will become of their "family" now? Can Yao let go of the past? Or will his grudge go on forever? Stay tuned and find out :D


	19. Yaiba no Rekishi

A/N: This took a while to get finished. Anyways, I hope you enjoy another chapter :D

* * *

Chapter 19: The History of a Blade

Kiku ran deep into the thicket, a dark chuckle chasing after him.

"Heh, you're going to have to be faster than that, aru!" Yao's voice echoed.

He gripped his katana tightly, cutting away at the bamboo poles that blocked his path. Through the poles, he saw a clearing and ran for it. He knew the risks of being in a wide open space, but he figured that he could draw Yao out of the thicket that way. He planted his feet to the ground as his eyes darted from left to right, finding the silence suspicious. He allowed his eyes to close, concentrating on sound and sound only. _Come on...where are you?_ His head jerked to the left at the sound of movement, but his body turned all around. His sword cut through the air, blocking Yao's attack, sword against sword. "That was a dirty trick!" Kiku shouted, not letting his block weaken. However, Yao was pressing against him with equal force. The older one smirked as Kiku's arms started to shake. "What's wrong, _little brother_," Yao said mockingly as he gripped tighter onto his _jian_*, "can't you hold up against your, _big brother_?" Kiku grit his teeth as he started pushing back and laughed as it was now Yao who was starting to loose his grip. "What's wrong, old man," Kiku said, imitating Yao's earlier taunting, "can't you hold up against me?" Yao quickly withdrew his sword and moved backward. "Shut up, aru!" He then quickly charged at Kiku, who held his ground.

~Flashback~

Kiku kept his eyes on Yao's front door, not knowing if he was at home or not. Regardless, he knocked on the door, gripping his sheathed katana in his hand. To his surprise, the door opened. But now that he thought about it, he was always welcomed through that door. And there it was. The welcoming face he wanted to see that night. How pitiful.

"Ah, Kiku! What are you doing here so late, aru!" Yao exclaimed happily. "Do you want to come in? I just made some _zongzi_. Would you like some?"

Kiku shook his head. "...forgive me..." Yao gave him a confused look, which was replaced with fear as Kiku drew out his katana. "W-what are you doing with such a dangerous thing, aru?" he asked his "younger brother" nervously. Kiku's eyes seemed distant. He pulled up his sword to Yao's chin, which made him back up. "What are you pointing it at me for?" Yao backed up into his house, Kiku following his every step. Yao grabbed the first thing he felt behind him-a vase- and threw it at Kiku before running. Kiku's katana easily broke through it. Such a waste of a beautiful vase.

Kiku darted after Yao, who was throwing various things in his way in hopes of slowing him down. _All I need to do is get to my room,_ Yao kept telling himself. "Kiku, stop this already, aru!" Yao said as he heard Kiku's footsteps following him without fail. "Stop this! What are Xun Feng, Mei Hua and Yong Soo suppose to think if they see this?" Yao cried desperately. He turned to Kiku and realized something-he was no longer the Kiku he once knew. Yao turned back around, his mind filled with relief as he approached his bedroom door. He reached out his hand, trying to pry open the door until a sharp pain spread throughout his entire back. He screamed at the pain, collapsing onto the ground as the clatter of the falling sword echoed throughout the house.

~End Flashback~

The katana cut through the air until it planted itself into the ground. Yao smirked at this. "You're at a lost, aru. How can you fight without a weapon?" Desperate, Kiku back the way he came, Yao following right behind him. "C'mon Kiku," the older one taunted. "I'll do to you what you did to me! It won't hurt, I promise." A loud cackle surrounded Kiku. However, he never looked back to see if Yao was still following him. Not once. His eyes scanned the ground before him, looking for a bamboo pole of an appropriate length. "Tch, you think that pole can stand up against my blade?" Yao asked darkly from behind. Kiku let out a low chuckle. "I can only try, right?" He turned around and took a stance. "You won't stand a chance against me, aru. Just admit defeat already." The younger of the two shook his head. "No. You said that I had to fight to get back your respect," Kiku said as his grip on the pole tightened, his eyes narrowing. "And I plan on making you listen to me."

* * *

Alfred stared out the window. _This is the second day they've been fighting..._he thought to himself. He glanced over at Xun Feng, who was tending to Yong Soo's injuries.

~Two Days Ago~

Strange. It was a rather foggy morning. Nevertheless, the group was making their way to the pavilion. They had been quiet for sometime now, but Mei Hua couldn't help but keep quiet any longer. "I know gege told us that we have to fight him...but I don't know if I can do this...he can't be serious...can he?" Xun Feng placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. "None of us wants to do this, but if he'll listen to us afterward-"

"What if he doesn't?"

The older one sighed. "All we can do is try to get through with him. Hopefully, we won't have to resort to violence." he said with a reassuring smile. He then glanced over at Yong Soo, who seemed to be quiet for once, and then over to Kiku and Alfred. He noticed that Kiku had been silent ever since the night before, ever since he relayed Yao's "message" to him. "Kiku...everything will be okay," he said loudly for him to hear. Kiku looked up and sighed. "I don't know...I'm starting to have my doubts..."

"Kiku...everything will be fine," Alfred said in his usual, upbeat voice. "He'll listen to you."

"But if we do fight..." Yong Soo said, "we're at a disadvantage. Hyeong knows most of our moves. It's not like we can surprise him or anything." Xun Feng nodded. "True, but remember, as children, we've seen him practice. That's all we ever saw. So it's safe to say that some of his moves can be predicted as well." Xun Feng then looked ahead, seeing that the pavilion was only a stone's throw away from them. There, he saw Yao standing at the front door...with two sheathed swords in his hand. Kiku noticed that one was a jian, while the other was a katana. "Everyone, don't let your guard down," Xun Feng whispered as Yao approached them. He smirked as he held out one of the swords.

"So, which one of you will fight me first?" he asked.

"Gege, you can't be serious! Can't we just talk?" Mei Hua cried. Yao dropped the katana on the ground and drew out the jian. He pointed it at Mei Hua, the tip hovering over her heart. "Hyeong! Don't do it!" Yong Soo bursted. Yao then pointed the blade at him. It was at that point where Kiku moved Yong Soo out of the way, his eyes focused on Yao. "Don't take your anger out on them. After all, I'm the one who wants to talk with you." Yao cackled, then smirked. "Tch, my how you've grown," he said sarcastically. "Instead of hurting them like you did before, you're going to defend them now? You're so two-faced." He bent down to pick up the katana, holding it out in front of him. "Here, _little brother_, you should remember this sword, right?" Yao remarked. "This is how it's going to work. One, we fight until one of us is unable to go on. Two, there are no boundaries when it comes to the battlefield. If you win, I'll listen to what you have to say. If you're lucky, I might consider to agree with you. However if you lose, none of you will be welcomed back here. Is that understood?" For the longest time, Kiku never took his eyes off of Yao, knowing that he was serious about this. Finally, after heaving a sigh, he took the sword from Yao. "I understand...and I accept your challenge."

~End Flashback~

"Ow! That hurts!" Yong Soo cried as Xun Feng applied some antiseptic on his cuts, which he got from trying out some of Yao's weapons while he was away. "Shut up or I'll pour the whole bottle on your arm," the older one argued. "Besides, this is what you get for going through someone's armory!" Yong Soo pouted. "But he had a sword that came from me!" Xun Feng whacked him on the head, not caring if he was whining about it. He then turned to Alfred, who seemed like he...wasn't all there. He lightly poked at his shoulder, only to have the American look up quickly. "Sorry," the blonde said while rubbing the back of his head, "I was just thinking, that's all. I just..."

"You don't think this is right, do you?" Mei Hua asked as she entered the room with a tray of tea. She delicately placed it down on the table. She set out each cup, one for each of them, and began to pour the tea. Alfred scoffed. "Well, yeah! I mean, what kind of siblings fight like this?" he shouted. "You're one to talk," Yong Soo muttered, having Xun Feng hit the back of his head once more. "Ow! Don't do that!" The younger one whined. "I still have a bruise there!" Xun Feng glared at him. "Then mind your manners!" He then turned to Alfred and bowed his head. "Please forgive my brother's rudeness." The blonde smiled, although Xun Feng could tell that he was bothered by Yong Soo's comment. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Well, I assume Kiku-hyeong told you about what happened before, right?" Yong Soo asked as he snatched the bandages from Xun Feng. The older one let out a sigh. "Fine," he said to his younger brother, "but if you need help putting that on, don't ask me." Yong Soo stuck out his tongue as he began to wrap up his arm, starting with his hand. The blonde nodded in response to Yong Soo's question. "Yes, he told me what happened that night. But what I still don't understand is why he did it. I mean, it was obvious that Yao cared about him, so then..."

"Oh, that's simple," Mei Hua said as she took a sip of tea. Her brothers gawked at her. Yong Soo quickly got up, making him trip as Xun Feng rolled his eyes. "You know why he did it?" Yong Soo asked as he recovered from the fall. Alfred seemed intruiged by this as well. "Can you tell us then?" Mei Hua looked at all of them and sighed. "It's very simple," she said again. "Yeah, we heard that already!" Yong Soo bursted, "Just tell us why!" Mei Hua kicked at his legs, causing him to cry out in pain. "What'd you do that for! I didn't bandage that leg yet!" She merely glared at him. "Just shut up and listen!" she barked before taking another sip. "As I said, it's simple," she said once more. "We're all representatives of our nations, are we not?" she asked. Alfred nodded in response as Xun Feng kept his stoic look. "Well, since we're only representatives, we have our superiors. It's all part of the chain of command. They tell us what to do, and we do it. They make a decision, and we go along with it. It's the reason why everyone did what they did during all wars we've been through. We have no choice in the matter." She took another sip of tea and looked over at the blonde. "Don't you agree, Alfred?" He was taken aback by her question, but nodded his head in agreement. She gave a polite smile. "All of us here have done something that we...regret. And whether or not we agree with our superiors, we have to comply with everything they say. Our duty is to our superiors and to our nations.* As people, we are to dedicate ourselves to our jobs."

"So what you're saying is that Kiku did all of that...because his boss told him to?" Yong Soo asked, sounding disappointed. Mei Hua nodded. "It's not like he could've said 'no.' As much as we'd like to disobey our superiors, at some point, we have to give in."

"So then what if your boss told you to attack me?" Yong Soo roared. Mei Hua paused, looking into her cup and heaved a sigh. "After questioning why I should do so and after a lot of reluctance...in the end, I would probably give into my superior's wishes."

"So that's how it is...huh...so you would sell out your family for the sake of your job?" Yong Soo shouted. Mei Hua slammed her cup onto the table, making Alfred and Xun Feng jump. "That's not what I said! All I'm saying is that no matter what, we have to do our job, even if we hate it!" she barked back. "If your superior told you to attack me, you'd do the same thing!"

"Both of you! Stop acting like children!" Xun Feng shouted as he crossed his arms.

Alfred looked over at all of them, wondering if he should speak out or not. _It's not my place_, he said, sensing the atmosphere for once. He looked out the window once more. _Kiku...I hope...things will turn out okay..._

* * *

Kiku charged at Yao, not caring if this attack would benefit him or be his last move. Yao smirked and cut several inches off of the pole, leaving Kiku with a dagger sized weapon. He then swung the sword towards Kiku's head. Kiku swiftly cut through the air with the small weapon and used it the block Yao's attack, which left his abdominal area open. He seized this opportunity and punched his stomach, bringing Yao to his knees. He then proceeded to kick the jian out of Yao's hands, having it glide on the ground and into the thicket. Yao fought back, wrapping his arm against Kiku's wrists, trying to flip him over. However, Kiku used his knees and straddled the older one, pinning him to the ground. Yao still struggled against Kiku, resorting to biting his wrists. Kiku winced at the pain and noticed a trail of blood dripping from his arm. "Just give it up! I won!" Kiku growled. "And you said that you would listen to me, remember?"

"So what if I did?" Yao barked back, continuing to struggle. Kiku released one of Yao's hand, only to grab his throat-but not too hard. "You're going to listen to me!" Kiku bursted. After much hesitation, Yao nodded, leaving Kiku to release his grasp and getting off of him. Both of them sat facing each other tried to look decent, as if nothing happened. "Fine, you wanted me to listen to you, aru. So what is it that you have to say?" Yao asked, looking away from the younger one. However, as much as he tried to avert his gaze, he could feel the other's eyes constantly looking at him. Kiku nodded slightly and proceeded to bow, just as he did several days again.

"Yao-niisama..." he began as he remained in that position, catching Yao's attention, "...I understand that you're still upset with me...what I did in the past was unacceptable. I now know how much pain and grief I caused you. However, you have no right to take out your anger on Xun Feng and the others. Please, I want you to accept them back into the family!" Yao kept a stoic look. "And what of yourself, aru? Your whole reason for coming here was to beg me for my forgiveness, was it not?" Kiku gulped. "It was...until I heard that you casted out the others because of me. They...they all love you very much, Yao-niisama. You shouldn't throw them away just because you're angry at me."

"That's not true!" Yao cried, causing Kiku to look up. Tears flowed down from the older one's eyes, his cheeks flushed. "They'll all leave me and hurt me like you did, aru! So why not speed up the process? That way, I won't feel this pain later on! I'll forget about them, and they'll forget about me!" Kiku extended out his arm, which was still covered in blood, and tried to comfort him. "Yao-niisama..." he called out quietly. However, Yao only smacked his hand away. "Why are you even here, aru?" he wailed. "It's bad enough that I have a scar that constantly reminds me about that night! Why can't you just stay away and let me forget?"

"Because...I didn't forget you..."

"W-what?" This little comment caught Yao off guard. Kiku looked at the ground, and then met Yao's eyes. He saw that they were weary, but he could still see the fire burning in them. "Everything that happen...everything that followed after that night...every scream, every cry, every gunshot, every flame...I never forgot any of it. That's why I came here." He bowed once again. "Please, I'm begging you...I know I deserved everything that happened to me after what I did to you*...wasn't all of that enough?" Yao didn't know what to say. Truth be told, Yao loved Kiku, with all of his heart. Since the beginning of the war, all he wanted was to talk to Kiku. But...

_...would that be enough...would that take away all of those years of pain...?_

"Yao-niisama...even though I know there might not be anymore room in your heart for me anymore...is it possible for you to accept my apologies?"

"_B__èn dàn_!* Yao cried out. Kiku gazed up at him, noticing that he was now on his knees, making his way toward him with his arms open. Kiku proceeded to do the same, both of them sharing a long awaited embrace. "Promise me you won't do that ever again, aru!" Yao said, his voice cracking under his tears. "I only wanted you to stay with me!" he said over and over as Kiku smoothed his hand over his back, comforting his brother.

* * *

The sun was already sinking into the horizon. They had already saw them from a walking distance. The three siblings ran outside as Alfred decided to stay behind, standing in front of the front door. Seeing those three run up to Kiku and Yao, hearing their genuine laughter...the blonde couldn't help but wonder...

_...will we be that way again, too?_

However, he kept these thoughts to himself as Kiku approached him. With his everyday, heroic smile, he flashed Kiku a thumbs up. "I told you it would all work out." Kiku nodded as Yao apporached both of them. He pointed his finger at the blonde and poke at his chest. "We're back to being brothers again, got it, aru? So that mean if you do anything, and I mean anything, that makes him cry, you're dead." Kiku blushed at this as Alfred's face went from hopefully to worried. "Y-yao-nii! You don't have to worry about that!"

"Can we cut your big brother speech short and eat now?" Yong Soo bursted. "I'm _so_ hungry hyeong! Can you makes us something? But then again, my food probably tastes better-" Xun Feng's hand cut him off, hitting his head. "Stop hitting me! Hyeong! Tell him to stop being so mean to me!" Xun Feng shrugged at this. "You'll never learn to be quiet, will you?"

* * *

*jian- a Chinese sword

katana- a Japanese sword

*Mei Hua's little "speech" about their duty to their countries reminds them (and us) that they are as human as they are one with their respective nations.

*I know I deserved everything that happened to me after what I did to you - here, Kiku is refering to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Now, concerning this, just because I wrote what Kiku said ("I deserved everything that happened") doesn't mean I condone America's actions. In general, WW2 was -and still is- a very touchy subject for a lot of people. I don't believed that Japan should've been bombed, however, we cannot fixed the choices that were made in the past.

*_B__èn dàn_- fool/idiot

Finally! It took me forever to come up with this! Sorry if this chapter disappoints. (I know how the transition from "I hate you" to "Let's be brothers again" happened pretty quick, so please forgive me for rushing) Anyways...as for the next chapter, we'll be back to the main storyline! (Recap: Beach House!) Woot! Hm...so what will happen on their little "vacation"? Some hilarity might ensue, along with a few more unearthed secrets (yes, there are still some secrets floating around!) And what of Roderich and Elizabeta's child? Will the others find out? And if so, how? Stay tuned to find out ;P


	20. Kotoba

A/N: Okay, this is kinda a fast read...Anyways, I hope you like it. There's a little something in here for SpainxRomano fans =) Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 20: Words

With experienced hands, Lovino began to slice the cucumber into disk-like shapes. He already strained the lettuce and cut it up accordingly. All that was left was this cucumber and two tomatoes. After he was done, he noticed his brother opening the oven with gloved hands. He placed the knife down and rushed over to Feliciano. "Don't do that!" he commanded, taking another pair of gloves. Feliciano pouted. "But I wanna help you! You made the lasagna, you're making the salad and you bought the wine! Can't I help?" The older one sighed as he put the lasagna on top of the stove. "I know you want to help, but I don't want you to risk getting burned!" He took off the gloves and went to the sink to rinse his hands. He glanced over at his brother, who looked like a child who had just received a tetnus shot. "If you want to help, you can set up the table." The younger one's face lit up as he went to the cupboard to get the plates.

"Ne, I should set up another plate for Antonio, right?"

Lovino slammed the knife on the cutting board, making the younger one jump up in surprise. The plates fumbled in his hand, but he managed to keep them from hitting the ground. "Do whatever you want," Lovino muttered, his cheeks red. Feliciano laughed at this as he placed the plates down on the table, knowing his brother would act this way. "Aw, c'mon fratello! It's nice to eat dinner with him every once in a while." Feliciano said playfully. Then, a thought sprouted in his head. "Oh, I see now fratello," he said as he placed an arm around his blushing brother, noticing that his hands were shaking. Of course, the knife was no longer in his possesion. "W-what are you talking about?" Lovino shouted. The younger one laughed. "I see now. Ve, you didn't want me to help you because you wanted to impress him." Lovino looked away in embarrassment. "S-shut up! Otherwise, you're not going to be eating!" Feliciano continued to laugh and tease his older brother. "Aw, that's a really big threat. So if I don't get to eat, that means you and Antonio have the dining room to yourselves, right?"

"S-shut the hell up!"

_RIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG (A/N: Yes, it's a doorbell, not the phone) _

"Oh, that's him! I'll go get it!" Feliciano said as he ran to the front door before Lovino could protest. He heaved a deep sigh as he looked over at the table. _Ugh, he didn't even get the silverware..._Lovino went to one of the drawers, getting three spoons, forks and knives. As he placed them, he heard Antonio's cheerful voice coming from the front door. Feliciano ran into the dining room, holding a small box as Antonio followed behind him with another box in his hands. "Look fratello! Antonio got me a box of chocolates!" Feliciano beamed. "Well, isn't that nice..." Lovino muttered. Antonio laughed at this and tapped the older Italian on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I got you one too." he said, handing over the box to Lovino. He then leaned over next to him, his lips near Lovino's ear. "I got you the expensive one," he whispered, making Lovino blush. "What'd you do that for?" the older Italian shouted as he walked back to the counter, the box still in his hands. This made the Spaniard laugh. "Well, you two _are_ treating me to dinner." Lovino placed the box down and went to the sink to rinse his hands as he looked over at Antonio, who was already seated.

"Ne, fratello, do you want me to cut the lasagna?"

Lovino sighed. "Fine. Just don't hurt yourself. The salad's almost done, so we can start plating soon." Feliciano nodded as he picked out a knife from the draw and began to cut the lasagna into rectangles as Lovino began the dice the tomatoes. Lovino glanced over at the box, remembering what Antonio had told him: _I got you the expensive one_. The older Italian felt a smile tug at his lips and a warm feeling filled his chest as he placed the diced tomatoes on top of the salad along with the sliced cucumber. "Okay, it's all done." he announced as he brought over the salad bowl. "Feli, go get the wine and start plating the lasagna." he commanded as his brother complied. After everything was settled, the three men held hands, proceeding to give their thanks for the food that laid out in front of them. Lovino motioned for the other two to hand up their plates so that he could plate the salad.

"All of this looks delicious," Antonio said as Lovino gave him back his plate. Feliciano laughed. "You can thank fratello! He's the one who made everything!" Antonio looked over at the older Italian, who was pouring himself a glass of wine, and smiled. "Mucho gracias for this wonderful dinner, Lovi" he said as he took a bite of the lasagna. "I-It was no problem," Lovino mumbled, obviously flustered.

"Ve, before I forget," Feliciano started as he began to eat some of the salad, "Antonio, fratello and I were wondering if you could take a vacation with us!"

"Sounds like fun! Where are we going to?" Antonio asked. "Well, we were planning on using our beach house, since it's been a long time since we've been there." Lovino replied. "Feli, here, wants to invite other people too." Feliciano nodded. "Well of course! After all the trouble everyone's gone to, why not treat them to a week of fun?" Antonio let out a hearty laugh. "Alright, sounds like a plan. So when is this 'week of fun'?" The younger Italian gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, fratello and I were thinking about going next week. I just have to call everyone else." He then looked over at his brother, who seemed to be a little bothered. "Hm? What's wrong fratello? Wasn't that the plan?"

"That's the plan, alright," Lovino muttered, "but do we really have to invite that damn potato bastard..." The younger one pouted. "But you already said that I could ask Ludwig to go with us!" he whined. Lovino took another sip of wine. "Fine, fine. I guess I can't change your mind about it."

"Aw, Lovi, you shouldn't have those angry outbursts," Antonio said. "Your cute face will get wrinkled and your hair will turn gray before you become an old man." he teased. Lovino looked away. "W-whatever! Let's just get back to eating."

* * *

He had been looking for her for a while now, and didn't have the slightest idea where she could be. Roderich looked down the hallway once more, hoping that he would find her. "Elizabeta!" he called for what seemed the hundreth time. _Where could she have gone,_ he wondered.

"I'm over here!" she shouted, her voice muffled. It was then that Roderich noticed that the storage room door was open. He walked over to it and noticed that Elizabeta was looking in one of the boxes. "Elizabeta, what are you doing?" he asked as he entered the room. She continued to look through the box, giving a small shout of happiness. "I found it!" she exclaimed, holding up a small, green dress. She turned to Roderich, who had a confused look on his face. "I was thinking that if we were having a girl that she could wear this. It's still in good condition." Roderich walked over to her to get a better look at the dress. _This is...this is the dress Feliciano used to wear..._The Austrian heaved a sigh. "I suppose if we have a girl, she can wear that when she grows into it." he said with red cheeks. He cleared his throat as she let out a small laugh.

"A-Anyways, Feliciano and Lovino called earlier."

"Oh, and how are they doing?" Elizabeta asked, still holding on to the small dress.

"They're fine. Actually, they want us to go on a vacation with them." Elizabeta's eyes brightened up. "A vacation! Can we go Roderich, please? A vacation sounds like a lot of fun!" she bursted. Roderich shook his head. "I don't know. I'm a little concerned about your...well being and I-"

"-oh, don't be such a baby about it! I can handle it! It's not like I'm going to give birth tomorrow or something! Please?"

Roderich heaved another sigh, knowing he didn't stand a chance against those emerald eyes. "Fine, I'll call them later and tell them we can go. According to Feliciano, we're going to be staying with them and the others in their beach house for a week." Elizabeta held her hands together. "Okay! When did they say we would go?"

"He said sometime next week."

"Yes! We finally get a vacation! Isn't this exciting?" He nodded his head in response. I suppose a vacation would be nice every once in a while."

* * *

Ludwig had already went out to give the dogs their evening walk, so Gilbert was pleased that he had the house all to himself for once. He had turned on the t.v., flipping through various channels. Of course, nothing had seemed all that interesting. At least, not to Gilbert. After what seemed forever, which was really only five minutes, he already felt the boredom seeping into him. He looked around the room, hoping that he'd find something interesting. _Hm...I could call Francis and we can go out drinking..._Gilbert glanced over at the clock and shook his head. _Nah, odds are he's already in a hotel room with a girl._ He drummed his fingers his knees. _Damn it...someone as awesome as me shouldn't be this bored!_ He looked over at the phone, hearing it ring and believing that it was only his imagination. However, after it rang for the second time, he finally picked it up.

"Hello? This is Gilbert speaking."

"Ve~! Gilbert! How are you?" An ear to ear grin pulled on Gilbert's lips. "Feli! It's been a while! I'm fine. Still awesome as always! And you?" Feliciano laughed. "I'm fine! Ne, listen. Fratello and I are going on a week long vacation and I was hoping that you and Ludwig could tag along with us." Gilbert put his hand to his chin. "That sounds fun! I'm sure I can get West to go with us, too! Kesese~! When are we going?"

"We're going next week! I'll let you know tomorrow about the details. Right now, I'm feeling really tired." Gilbert felt his smile fade away. "O-okay then. I'll let West know about it."

"Ve~ okay. Talk to you tomorrow."

_CLICK_

Gilbert set the phone down, thinking _What the hell am I suppose to do now? I'm so bored..._

* * *

The moment Feliciano hung up the phone, he heard his brother's voice, along with Antonio's. He left his room and went to the stairwell, walking on his toes so that he wouldn't be heard by either of the other men. He crouched down, so that his head peered inbetween the railings. From there he saw both men, hugging their good byes. Antonio smiled his usual absent minded smile while Lovino looked away: the same actions they've been doing for the past several years. Feliciano used to keep count of how many times they did this. However, ever since he counted them doing this for the millionth time two years ago -one million, two hundred forty-three thousand, eighty six times, to be percise- he stopped keeping track. He knew how this was going to end, and wondered why he always watched his brother and Antonio. But truth be told, Feliciano was always watching because he hoped for something different to happen.

"I had a good time with you tonight, Lovi," Antonio beamed. Of course, Lovino would never look him in the eyes. Instead, he let the other man know how he felt the only way he knew how. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him close enough to feel the rise and fall of his chest. Antonio let out a small, light laugh, hoping to God that it wouldn't upset Lovino. It did, but the older Italian never told him that. He never spoke out against it in recent years. Not once. But why? However, Antonio, did the same gesture he had always done. He placed his thumb and forefinger on the younger man's chin and tilted his head up. But Lovino always found away to avoid meeting the other's eyes.

"Per favore...don't do this..." Lovino pleaded. Antonio's smile quickly dissolved into a frown.

"But mi amor, I-"

"-please, don't call me that," the older Italian says, his eyes filled with the teary message he can't deliver through words. "W-we a-agreed you bastard...you said I could take my time with this..." Antonio's smile turned weak and he cupped Lovino's face with his hand, making the Italian tremble at his touch. "I'm sorry, Lovi. I didn't mean to push it. You...you know I love you, right?" Lovino nodded and buried his face in Antonio's chest. "I know, you stupid bastard...a-and I-I..."

_Here it goes,_ Feliciano thought as his brother bursted into tears, his cheeks red and his sadness everflowing. Of course, Antonio began to wipe away the tears, much to the other man's protests.

Feliciano stood up carefully, so that he wouldn't make a sound. _He still can't say it,_ he thought as he walked back to his room. However, he smiled lightly. _But I'm sure Antonio knows that he feels the same way. _He close the door behind him and tackled his bed, admiring how soft it was. The young Italian then took off his pants and his shirt, leaving them on a chair near his bed and curled up underneath the sheets. He then grabbed one of his pillows and held it to his chest as he stared up at the cieling. With his brother and Antonio in mind, he smiled. _They'll be just fine, _he thought as his eyes began to close, lulling him to dreamland. _I know they'll be just fine..._

And he was right.

Feliciano's eyes shot open at the sounds in the bedroom next door. He curled up on his side and and let out a light laugh. He threw the sheets off of himself, putting his pants and shirt back on. _I'll let those two have their privacy_, he thought as he started to hum an upbeat song. He took a piece of paper and pen and wrote down a few words. When he was done, he re-read the message:

_Dear fratello,_

_I'm still feeling kinda full from dinner, so I'm taking a walk around the park. I'll be back around ten o'clock. Have fun with Antonio!_

_Love,_

_Feliciano_

He slipped the note underneath his brother's door, being careful not to laugh even more as the moans increased. _Have fun fratello, _he thought as he walked down the hall.

A cool, night breeze greeted Feliciano as he walked outside. He shivered at the contact, but started to walk all the same. As he walked, he saw that there were some people still outside, most of them couples who had decided to take a moonlit walk. Feliciano kept a smile as he walked down the street. He glanced up at the cresent moon, which seemed as if the darkness that was the sky would swallow it whole. The stars decorated the sky, complementing the moonlight. He continued walking down the street while the shadows of the buildings and other people only grew darker and daker...

* * *

Alright, that's it for this little chapter :D I hope you all enjoyed it

So in conclusion:...BEACH HOUSE!

Yes, it's coming up. It's actually taking me longer to get to that point in the storyline, for some reason ^^; I usually let my friend read these chapters before I upload them (if you're wondering why there's a lot of grammar mistakes, it's because she always forgets to tell me. I guess you can say she's my editor...but she kinda fails at it XP ) and she got mad that I didn't get into that little SpainxRomano bedroom scene. Maybe I will in the future and post it seperately...*has a nosebleed just thinking about it* XD Anyways I hope this was enjoyable. Until next time everyone ^_^


	21. Kono Chiisai Jikan

A/N: Sorry that took a while...my school hates me =_=. Short chapter? Long chapter? Well, either way, here it goes! :D

* * *

Chapter 21 This Small Time

It was your average morning after. If the two men, who were fast asleep didn't explain what happened the night before, their clothes, which were scrambled all over the floor, would have a happy discussion about it over breakfast. The morning light flickered through the window, making small particles visible in the air. The Italian opened his eyes, still wondering if last night had been real or his secret dream come true. However, the emerald eyes that stared into him as he woke up told him, "It wasn't a dream." Those eyes were calm, as always, but that didn't prevent a well known redness to find its way to Lovino's cheeks.

"W-what the hell are you staring at?" he shouted. Antonio laughed at his and cooed the heated Italian. "Sh...you'll wake up you're brother." In response, Lovino turned around and faced the opposite direction. "That's not what you were saying last night..." he muttered into the pillow. He felt to arms wrap around him and pull him closer. However, he didn't fight it. "Lovi," Antonio said softly, "last night...did you enjoy it?" If poor Lovino's cheeks weren't red enough, they were now. He remained silent, thinking of something to say. He whispered his response, making Antonio laugh again. "I can't hear you if you're whispering," he teased. With an annoyed grunt, the Italian sat up in the bed and proceeded to throw the sheets off of himself. He gathered up his and Antonio's clothes and placed them in the hamper. He then walked over to his dresser in silence, searching the drawers for clothes. This made Antonio frown as he sat up in the bed. "Lovi! Don't be mad at me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"-of course I enjoyed it you stupid bastard!" Lovino clutched onto a shirt he found and let out a deep sigh. "It was really good..." The Spaniard's face lit up and a smiled was painted on his lips. "Really? That makes me really happy Lovi~! Te amo~" The Italian scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Ti amo, you stupid bastard."

_It was good...because it was with you..._

Lovino shook his head and threw the shirt he held to Antonio. "Here, you can give it back whenever. I'll look for some boxers and a pair of jeans and..."

"Lovi? What is it?" the Spaniard asked, noticing the shift in the Italian's expression. Lovino got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the door, only to find a small piece of paper. He read what was inscripted, and crumpled the piece of paper.

"What was is Lovi?"

"I-It's nothing!"He turned to Antonio, who was laughing nonstop. "What are you laughing at, you bastard?"

"You're so cute!" he bursted. "And you're cheeks! They're so-"

"-don't say it! Don't you dare say it!" Lovino cut in, covering his face with his hand.

_Stupid fratello..._

As the two men went down the stairs, the aroma of fresh coffee filled the home. They heard a singing noise, but it was not unrecognizable. They both knew that voice anywhere. That same voice greeted them happily as they entered the kitchen.

"Good morning fratello~! Good morning Antonio!" Feliciano chirped. The older Italian grumbled as Antonio smiled. "Good morning Feli! Did you sleep well?" Feliciano nodded. "Yeah. And I know you had a comfortable night." He then turned to his older brother, who had already seated himself at the table. "Although, I don't know if last night was all that comfortable for you, fratello~" He said, give his brother a playful wink. Antonio let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, I'm pretty sure Lovi had a nice time." the Spainard responded as Lovino slammed his face onto the table in attempt to hide his obvious blush.

"I hate both of you..." he mumbled into the table. His younger brother let out a light laugh.

"We love you too, fratello."

* * *

Ludwig wandered into the kitchen, becoming a little irked after staying locked up in his room doing some paper work. He yawned as he opened the refridgerator. However, his brother's voice caught his attention as he grabbed a chilled bottle of beer.

"Of course you can! We can have fun when you get here, kesesese!" Gilbert said rather loudly over the phone, but that wasn't new. The blonde merely stood next to the counter, enjoying his beer. "Alright then," the other man contiued, "we'll see you when you get here. Bye for now!"

_Click_

"Who was that, bruder?" Ludwig asked as Gilbert set down the phone. Gilbert stuck out his chest proudly and laughed. "That was Feli! And he's going to be coming over! Oh, that reminds me, tell your boss to let you go on vacation next week!" Ludwig's jaw dropped, unable to believe what his brother had just told him. His lips surrendered an exhausted sigh as he brought his hand to his forehead. _Mein gott...why does he always do these kinds of things? _However, he replayed what Gilbert told him in his mind. _Feliciano called before actually coming over? That's new..._

Gilbert let out another laugh. "C'mon West! Feli wants to treat us to a vacation!"

"I don't get it..."

The older man gave his brother a confused look.. "What's not to get? Feli wants us to go on vacation with him and the others." He then proceeded to nudge the blonde with his elbow. "And he practically _begged_ me to ask you to go."

_...what?_

Ludwig let out a light cough. "H-He did?"

Another hearty laugh escaped from the Gilbert. "Kesesese~! What's wrong West?" Another playful nudge. "Happy? Mad? _Flustered_? _Infatuated_?" A red blushed painted itself onto Ludwig's cheeks, his crisp blue eyes now soaked in embarrassment. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." Gilbert smacked his hand onto his brother's back. "Yeah right." The blonde brought his hand to his forehead. "That's not it..."

"No need to be embarrassed, West! He _is_ just a _friend_, right?"

Ludwig raised his brow. "...yeah. Why?"

Gilbert smiled as he sat down on the sofa. "No reason, West. I'm just...curious."

_We're all just...curious..._

_

* * *

_

Despite Lovino's protests, Feliciano made his way to Ludwig's house. However, as he passed through the Italian streets, he saw a small, sunflower yellow building with an olive green fabric canopy in the front. He noticed that the window frames and the door frame were painted white. There were dark green stands, two on both sides of the doorm filled with various produce, along with a stack of wooden crates. But what had caught the Italian's attention was a beautiful shade of red. He walked up to the apple stand, merely staring at them. And out of nowhere, a small voice.

"Excuse me, mister. Would you like to buy some apples?"

A girl no older than five stood behind the stand closest to the door, hiding half of her body from the Italian. She had auburn hair that went down to her chin, her hazel eyes peering through her bangs. She wore a pink dress that had white straps and trims, along with matching sandals. Her eyes displayed her shyness. However, her polite smile told Feliciano otherwise. He gave her a warm smile.

"Yes, I do. How much are these apples?" he asked as he walked over to her. At first, she took a few steps backwards. However, when he crouched down so that he met her height, or at least tried to, she wasn't as afraid anymore.

"They're two dollars and fifty cents a pound." she mumbled.

He held out his hand in front of himself and slowly waved it from left to right. "My name is Feliciano, but you can just call me Feli, or whatever you'd like if you can't remember it. What's your name?" To his surprise, she placed her hand on his palm. Her hand was small, but through that small hand, Feliciano felt a penetrating strength behind it. However, her soft hands reminded him that she was innocent, and still only a child.

"My name is Sophia."

"Well, Sophia, can I buy a pound of apples?"

She gave him a small nod. "You can just take them, Mr. Apples."

Feliciano smiled. _She's so cute!_ "I can't do that. Where's the store owner?" Sophia shook her head. "My mom had to go to the post office really quick. She told me to watch the store for her until she comes back."

"Then how about this?" he asked. "I'll give you the money for the apples, and you can give it to your mom when she gets back. Does that sound okay?" The girl nodded and pointed inside the store. "Wait here. I'll get you something." She ran into the depths of the store, leaving Feliciano to stand up straight.

_...why would someone leave a kid all alone..._

He walked over to the apple stand, glancing at ever single one. However, light footsteps got his attention.

"Here you go, Mr. Apples." Sophia said as she held out a blue bag. "You can put them in here so you won't get tired from carrying them." Feliciano laughed at this. _How adorable!_ "Thank you, Sophia," he said as he ruffled her hair. She nodded in response. "The scale is inside the store. I'll be at the counter if you need me." Sophia walked back into the store. Feliciano let out a small chuckle as he began to put some apples into the bag. After he was done, he walked into the small store. He saw the counter and walked over to it and saw the scale next to the cash register. But what amazed him was that Sophia was sitting at the counter. This baffled the Italian, knowing how short she was. _How could she reach the counter? Even if she sat on a chair...she couldn't reach, could she_?

"Hello, Mr. Apples," she said as she took out a piece of paper and a pencil from the drawer. Feliciano placed the bag on top of the scale, the arrow wavering until it measured the exact weight. Sophia peered over at the scale and said, "Two pounds." As she scribbled something onto the piece of paper, the Italian noticed that she was sitting on top of three phone books that were piled on top of the chair. Sophia scratched her head. "Hm...because it's two pounds...it's two dollars and fifty cents plus two dollar and fifty cents...so then..."

Feliciano smiled. "Here, let me help you." He took the pencil and paper from her and wrote down the simple addition equation. "She this? You work with the numbers from left to right. Zero plus zero is always zero, so then we move on to the next column. Understand?" Sophia nodded. Feliciano continued. "Okay, so then five plus five is ten. We put down the zero and carry the one over to the next column. Now, you add two plus two plus one. Can you do that? Another nod. Sophia held out her fingers and counted off. "One, two, three, four, five. It's five!" Feliciano clapped his hands. "Good job Sophia! Now all you do is put the dot inbetween the five and the zero. That means I have to pay you five dollars." The Italian reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a crisp five dollar bill. "Now remember Sophia, I want you to give this to your mother and tell her that someone bought apples from the store, okay?"

She nodded. "Thanks for shopping here, Mr. Apples!" she said as he made his way through the door. "Please come back again!" Feliciano turned to her and smiled. "I will, I promise."

"Okay! I'll be waiting with a lot of apples for you!"

As Feliciano went on his way, Sophia's words echoed throughout his mind.

_I'll be waiting with a lot of apples for you!_

An uncomfortable sensation began in the pit of his stomach and spread out to his whole body, making his heart beat faster. Memories that were sewn into his mind replayed themselves.

_I'll be waiting with lots of sweets for you!_

Feliciano found a flower and picked it up. He held a single petal in his hand and plucked it.

"I tell him."

He then plucked another petal.

"I don't tell him."

And so on and so forth.

* * *

Okay, that's all I'm doing for this chapter for several reasons: at this moment in time, it's going on ten o'clock, I'm a bit sleepy (I shouldn't have listened to those previews for the APH Counting Sheep Series while typing this chapter), school is killing me, and some other stuff (I hate junior year already). That, and I figured that I held off the beach vacation thing long enough. So I'll skip to that in the next chapter. Thank you to those who are still reading this. You have no idea how happy that makes me. And if you're wondering why I added that little bit with the girl named Sophia...I'll leave that to your imagination for now. As for the answer Italy got while plucking the flower...I will also leave that to you imagination for now. Well anyways, next chapter (I promise) BEACH HOUSE! I'll see you all next time.


	22. Important Author's Note

Um...yeah...I'm suffering writer's block for this story D;

Until I can write the next chapter ( my brain is so slow! ), I'd like it if you all can read my other Hetalia fic in progress, called "APH: Better Days" (idk, I was listening to Better Days by The Goo Goo Dolls while writing the prologue, which btw, is already posted.) Anyways, I'll try to seek out some inspiration for this story...hopefully, it won't take too long...until next time...


	23. Kiri no Naka ni

A/N: I know this took a while to get up, and sadly this is short. Sorry for it being short and a little...well yeah. With school and all, it's almost too hard to think of anything to write. But I hope you enjoy this little bit~

* * *

Chapter 22: In the Mist

The early morning mist rolled into the seashore, making the scenery become dyed with a light gray tone. The sun was barely past the horizon, and slowly crept up into the sky. Feliciano had been awake, and this had been the sixth morning in a row that he had woken up before the others. Naturally, the cooks and the maids were already awake as well. One of the maids had greeted him with a warm smile. However, he only nodded and walked out the front door. He sat on the porch, staring at the scenery, just waiting for everyone else to wake up. He noticed that the mist was getting thicker and thicker.

"...it's as if the whole world is disappearing..."

He stayed outside, only to become lost in his own thoughts.

~Flashback~

_When they arrived at the beach house, it was almost exactly the same as they remembered it, with a front porch and two floors. The house was painted a pale blue and the window frames were a pure white. _

_"Alright, here we are," Lovino said as they pulled into the driveway. Elizabeta clapped her hands together. "The house is just as beautiful as I remembered!" she exclaimed as Roderich looked over at the house. "Looks like you guys kept it in its original state." Kiku leaned over to Feliciano. "The building is so simple and yet it's so beautiful. Can I take some pictures of it?" Feliciano let out an innocent laugh. "Of course you can~! But you might want to save your film for other scenery. After all our property is...erm...fratello, how big is our vacation place again?"_

_"It's about fourty acres of land," Lovino replied. "The beach itself is probably several miles long. When I talked to Francis on the phone, he said the property expanded another twenty something acres because of the vineyard. And...I think that's about it..." As the two brothers turned to face everyone else, the noticed that everyone's jaws had nearly hit the floor._

_"Y-You guys have that much property for _vacation_?" Gilbert choked. "Goddamn...I knew you guys had a lot...but shit..."_

_Ludwig sighed. "You _do _remember that their grandfather was one of the wealthiest men in all of Europe, don't you?" Gilbert frowned. "Of course I do! You practically worship that guy! I just didn't think they'd have that much land..."_

_"Anyways, let's get ouf of the van already and take our things outside." Lovino said as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Feliciano immediately jumped out of the car as a familiar voice welcomed them._

_"Feli, mon petit __frère~! Bienvenue~*!"_

_The two men hugged each other as Lovino crossed his arms. "I still can't believe that __bastardo is here..." he muttered as Antonio laughed. "Francis, it's been a while." he said as they high fived each other. "I know, and I'm all glad we can better together for a week."_

_"Speak for yourself, you bastard." Lovino muttered. The younger Italian elbowed his brother. "Aw, don't be like that, fratello. After all, it's kinda nice to be back here, don't you think?"_

_"I guess..."_

~End Flashback~

"Aren't you cold?"

Feliciano's body jerked quickly, then went back into a relaxed position. "Oh, good morning Ludwig~! Did you sleep okay?" The blonde man gave a confirming nod, then yawned. "Yeah. Isn't it a bit too early for you to be awake?" Feliciano shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

_Huh...he usually complained if I woke him up early for training..._

Feliciano continued to gaze at the scenery. "Y'know, it's like the mist wants to swallow the world," he mumbled, catching Ludwig's full attention. "It just keeps spreading until it covers everything..." Ludwig found this to be strange, however, he listened. "Sometimes I think the mist will swallow me up, too. It would be like I was never here. It wouldn't leave a trace of me..."

"...are you okay?"

Feliciano quickly looked up, then smiled. "I'm sorry," he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't mean to babble like that...um...Ludwig?"

"What is it," he asked as he sat down next to the Italian. For the longest time, Feliciano didn't say a single word. He just stared out into the fog, not responding to anything. "...nevermind...it's nothing." He quickly got up and walked over to the front door. "Let's go back inside, okay?" he said with a smile. But this smile was different. Ludwig knew it had to be different.

* * *

Rain.

They knew it would be foggy.

But the pitter patter against the windows had caught everyone off guard.

Feliciano sat by the window, staring at the droplets trickling down the window as the sun was setting, not that he could see beyond the thick, dark clouds. He then turned to everyone, who were scattered across the living room. "At least we had a lot of fun in the beginning of the week, right?" he asked them.

"I have to admit, playing volleyball was fun," Roderich responded as he sat up in his seat. Gilbert let out a piercing laugh that echoed throughout the room. "You call being a referee being fun? You should've played! But then again, you wouldn't have standed a chance against me. I'm _way_ too awesome."

Elizabeta leaned over and smacked the back of his head. "If you're so awesome, why did your team lose?" she chuckled. The red eyed man buried his face in his hands and shook his head. "Don't remind me...but it was all West's fault!" he whined as he pointed to Ludwig, who was reading a book he found in the study. "He doesn't know how to set a ball!" The blonde rolled his eyes at this. "You didn't know how to set either, bruder." Gilbert scowled. "Whatever!"

"You're just pissed that you lost to us!" Alfred shouted as he walked in the room. "Besides, you need a hero like me to win a game!" he proclaimed. "Tch, I can beat you anyday!" Gilbert shouted.

Elizabeta facepalmed at this. "Will you two give it a rest? Ita-chan's team won, and that's that." But Gilbert wouldn't have it. "I bet if it was just me, Antonio and Francis, we would've won! But no, West had to mess it all up."

Feliciano let out a light laugh. "Gilbert~! It was just for fun~! Besides, Ludwig played well! You all did!"

The wind roared as the rain fell harder against the window. Feliciano got up and walked over to the doorway.

"Where are you going?" Lovino asked, this being the first time he looked up from reading one of his favorite war novels. "I'm just going to check on something upstairs. I'll be back in a minute." He disappeared beyond the staircase as Lovino went back to his book. However, he wa interuppted by a pair of emerald eyes.

"Lovi~ I'm bored! Entertain me." Antonio chirped. "Fuck off, bastard. I'm reading." the Italian muttered as his eyes scanned the middle of the page. "But Lovi~! It's raining and I want to play with you~!" Lovino scoffed. "What are you? A five year old?"

"Um...Lovino-san?" Kiku said, hoping that he wasn't intruding. Both Lovino and Antonio turned to the Japanese man, who was holding several books in his hands. "Yes, Kiku?" Kiku shifted from side to side. "Um...I was wondering if I could borrow some of these books from you. They seem very interesting."

"Of course you can. You can borrow them as long as you like." Lovino responded. Kiku shook his head. "I can't do that. I'll return them as soon as I'm done reading." The Italian shrugged. "Whatever pleases you," he said as he went back to reading his book.

In an instant, the whole room turned dark, and in turn, was filled with gasps and muttering.

"Mierda...," Lovino mumbled. "Francis, I thought you got the wiring redone."

"I did, mon cher," Francis responded from across the room. "I guess it must be from the rain. I'll have someone check it out."

Lovino looked out the window, noticing that he could barely see beyond three feet away from the window. "I don't think that's a good idea. That's a pretty heavy storm." Lovino got up, and looked around, not that he could see much. He took out his phone, and flashed it around. "Let's just use our cell phones as a source of light for now until we can find either some flashlights or candles. Hopefully, the power will come back soon."

Ludwig yawned. "I'm going to sleep early. I'll see you all later." As he headed upstairs, he could've sworn that Lovino rolled his eyes at him, but it was too dark to tell. The blonde shrugged this off, and headed upstairs.

"N-No...not again..." a voice whimpered.

As he reached the top step, Ludwig took a moment and paused.

_What was that?_

"...please...not again..."

_There it is again..._

Ludwig followed the whimpering until he reached the bathroom. His had reached for the doorknob.

"G-Go away!" Ludwig's body stiffened.

"J-Just go away! Leave me alone!" the Italian cried behind the bathroom door. However, the blonde ignored his complaints and walked into the bathroom. The metalic smell hit him like a bullet. Red spots. All over the floor. All over _him_. Feliciano forced a smile, but that didn't cover up the blade in his hand and the blood stains on his sleeves. He kept his hand over to wound to keep the blood from flowing.

"F-Feliciano? Wh-What are you...?" the blonde blurted out as he took several steps forward towards Feliciano. "What happened?" he said as knelt down to face the other man. Feliciano was trembling where he sat, tried to move further away. Ludwig extended his hand, but the Italian merely shook his head and backed away.

"...h-he came back..."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Did someone do this to you?" Feliciano shook his head. Tears were flowing down from his eyes and framed his cheeks. "I-It's the same face..."

_...what?_

"Feliciano, I don't understand..."

Another fake smile. "M-My other self...he came back...he tells me, 'Just do do it. No one will care. They'll be relieved when you're gone.' But I..." Feliciano buried his face in his hands and broke down in tears. "I don't want to die! I still want to play soccer with everyone, eat pasta with everyone and...a-and..."

Ludwig gulped. "...then don't die."

"B-But it hurts!"

_...hurts?_

Feliciano did his best to wipe his eyes. "I'm always getting into trouble, and everyone has to make up for it! I hate it! Everyone always has to take care of me, and I'm dragging you all down!" The blonde sighed. What could he say? "If you died..." he began, "...that'd only make things worse. Everyone cares about you."

"...what about you?" Feliciano asked, holding onto Ludwig's sleeve.

"W-What do you mean?" Ludwig asked, taken by surprise. Feliciano looked into Ludwig's eyes. Those piercing, crisp blue eyes. He noticed the strength in them, but also the fear behind them.

_Maybe I shouldn't have asked him..._

The blonde cleared his throat and looked away. "...of course I care. You're my friend." A lie. Feliciano looked down at his hands, then at Ludwig's. "I like you a lot, Ludwig. You're my dearest friend. You like me too, right?"

_...shit._

_"_Ja, of course I do." Another lie. He cleared his throat again. "The bleeding stop. Let me take a look at your arm." Feliciano complied and pulled up his sleeve. Ludwig's eyes traced the other man's arm, following every scar. "Hm...it's not that deep. It should heal faster than the previous ones."

"W-Will I be okay?" Feliciano asked.

"...I think so. Yeah." Another goddamn lie.

_

* * *

_

_*Feli, mon petit __frère~! Bienvenue- _Feli, my little brother~! Welcome~!

Again, I'm sorry for this being so short. Please forgive me, school's a hassle. Hopefully, I can write more for the next chapter. Until next time.


	24. Hoshitachi E

Chapter 23: To The Stars

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter~

_

* * *

_

_"Am I going to be okay?"_

Those words were ringing throughout Ludwig's mind.

Sometime after helping Feliciano clean his cut, the electricity came back. Both men had promised to not tell the others. Knowing Lovino, he'd probably blame it all on Ludwig with one reason or another. But was it really for the best? Ludwig didn't know anymore. He went to bed early, just as he said. He could hear the chatter downstairs and the bickering that occured-something about playing strip poker, or something of the like. Of course, it was all started by his brother.

He wanted to sleep early, but his mind kept going. Kept thinking. It was already going on eleven o'clock by this point and he just couldn't sleep, even though he wanted to.

_He cut himself purposely, didn't he...? I thought he was over that...what would make him...?_

The blonde shook his head and rolled over on his side, facing the door. _Feliciano,_ he thought, _just what are you trying to do?_ Ludwig sat up in the bed. _What's making him so unhappy? He has his brother, and his friends. I don't get it. _He rubbed his head. This was annoying.

_...what's the matter with him?_

He sank back into the bed and closed his eyes. "I'll worry about it some other time," Ludwig muttered quietly as he pulled the covers over himself. But as he was lulled to sleep, another thought sprouted in his head.

_...why do I care so much?_

* * *

_The older teen pointed a gun at the younger child. "Dites vos prières," he muttered as his hands began to tremble, his finger close to pulling the triggger. The younger child gazed back at him with innocent eyes, those eyes that practically welcomed death. "D-Don't look at me that way!" the older one shouted, bringing his arm down slightly. "I-It's not like I want to do this," he gulped. The younger one got up from his place, startling the older blonde. "What the hell are you doing," he barked. "Get back down, or I'll kill you!"_

_"I'm right here...so shoot me."_

_SMACK!_

_"You're a stupid child!" the older blonde cried. "You have someone waiting back at home for you, and all you can say is 'shoot me?'" The younger one merely smiled weakly. "...Francis...it's okay. We all knew this would happen eventually."_

_"You idiot!" Francis shouted. "I-I...I won't kill you! You made a promise! You should keep it!"_

_The younger child walked over to his pile of belongings and pulled out his rifle, bringing the end of it into his mouth. "If you won't do it, then I'll-"_

_The younger one's voice was drowned out by a loud smack as his rifle flung into the air. "You're so pathetic..." Francis muttered. "The whole point of this damn war is to _win_...and you just want to put your life to an end...you should at least die trying!"_

_The younger one shook his head. "You don't get it...I've suffered enough in this war. It's time for it to end."_

_Francis' grip tightened around his rifle. "You selfish brat...everyone suffers! There's someone back at home waiting for you...and you just want to die? You're willing to throw your life away?" The younger looked down. _

_"If I die...I can be reborn into something else...something better..." he responded, his words stained with tears. "I can't go back with this body! I can't return back home as something frail...as Holy Roman Empire...I just can't! So please...just be done with it and kill me!"_

_To kill a child...the child your brother loves dearly..._

_"I-I can't do it!"_

He loves you too much...

_Francis took his rifle with both hands and gulped. "...you could've done better..." He swung the rifle around, wincing everytime it made contact with the younger one's head. Some blood had spattered, leaving small droplets on Francis' face. _

_And when he was done, all he could do was step back and cry.._

* * *

Ludwig sat up in his bed, sweat rolling down his cheeks. He let out a tired groan and buried his face in his hands. "What the hell was that..." he wondered out loud, before his attention was brought to the doorway.

"A-Are you okay?" asked a quiet voice.

The blonde kept his eyes on the doorway, beckoning his friend. "...Feliciano...what're you doing up? I thought you went to sleep already."

The Italian showed himself and took a few steps into the room. He studied Ludwig's face, noticing wet marks that trailed down from his eyes to his chin.

_Was he crying...?_

Feliciano gulped. "I-I went to the kitchen for a drink. When I was coming back, I thought I heard crying...and um...I wanted to check on you..."

"O-Oh...I see. Well...I...erm..."

Feliciano took a few steps back and smiled. "If you don't want to talk, I-"

Ludwig shook his head. "-no...erm...I...um...want to talk."

The Italian tilted his head, walking back into the room. "Really?" The blonde nodded. "Yeah...I...um...remembered something...about the past..." Ludwig sighed and rubbed his head as Feliciano sat down next to him. His eyes locked onto Ludwig's face, full of curiosity. "What about the past?" Ludwig shifted around a bit. "Um...it's about the Thirty Years' War..." He noticed that the Italian winced, and looked down. "O-Oh...what did you...um...remember?" The blonde gulped as he ran his fingers through his hair. After stumbling over a few words in the beginning, he began to tell Feliciano of his dream.

_Why is this so hard for me to talk about, _Ludwig asked himself mentally. As he went on, all Feliciano could do was tear up and wipe the droplets from his eyes.

"...and I remember begging him to kill me..."

This wasn't exactly easy for the Italian to hear. He gulped, then proceeded to clear his throat. "Erm...why did you do that," he asked, trying to hide the sadness in his voice. Feliciano then shifted back when he noticed Ludwig's discomfort. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ask such a personal question!" he exclaimed as he waved his hands. The blonde shook his head. "Erm...no, it's okay. I...um...didn't want to come back as something...how do I say this...? I-I didn't want to come back...as something weak..."

Feliciano's eyes widened. "But you're not weak at all!" he exclaimed as he shook his head. "You're really strong!"

Ludwig turned to the Italian, their eyes meeting. "Feliciano...can you tell me...is that why you hurt yourself?" The Italian winced, then gave Ludwig a weak smile. "It's that obvious...isn't it? I...I just don't want to be troublesome for everyone, y'know? I-I..." he trailed off, lost in his thoughts, unable to think properly anymore. "..I-I don't know!" he cried as he held his head between his hands. "Sometimes I feel like I just want to die! And I think that if I die, there won't be anymore problems!" Tears were streaming down from his eyes. At first, Ludwig wanted to wipe them away, but refrained from doing so. "Everyone will finally have a peace of mind if I'm gone. It'll be like I was never here. Everyone will just forget me..."

"Feliciano," Ludwig began, heaving a sigh, "That's crazy. You're not the source of our problems. We all have something...personal...that we have to deal with. You're our friend, and none of us would never think of you that way."

"Not even you?"

_Crap..._

"C'mon, Ludwig. You can't tell me that you haven't thought of me as one of your troubles."

_Shit...what do I tell him?_

Ludwig cleared his throat. "That was a long time ago, when we weren't friends yet. But now...erm..." He rubbed the back of his head. '_How do I say this...'_

"Now we're friends. And I..."

_...I can't even bear the thought of losing you..._

"...I feel that you're really important to me."

Feliciano looked down and wiped his eyes. _'Should I tell him now...'_ he asked himself. He let a few silent moments pass before clearing his throat. "Ve...Ludwig...I have something I want to ask you..."

This caught Ludwig off guard. "E-Er...ja?" His eyes scanned every single movement Feliciano made, and noticed that he kept shifting from side to side. "Is something wrong?"

_This isn't the time to be scared._

"N-No," Feliciano gulped as he looked down at his hands. Throughtout his mind, the game of Should I, Shouldn't I kept playing. Inside, he knew that things could only go one way or the other. But would it be worth all the trouble? Wouldn't it seem strange?

_...I won't know unless I try._

"It's just that...I wanted to know...um..."

_Here it goes._

"...is it possible for you to like me...like when we were younger?"

Ludwig's eyes widened. Did Feliciano just ask him what he thought he asked him. It couldn't be possible, could it? This could be a dream...or a nightmare, both with it's pros and cons. '_What should I say?'_ Ludwig asked himself. '_Sure, I mean, I know I _care_ about him...but what exactly is this feeling? I can't stand the thought of losing him. I-I...' _

Feliciano began to tear up again. "I know you said to start over...but I-I...my feelings are still the same...and I want to know if...'we'...could ever happen..."

The blonde was dumbfounded. His body remained paralyzed, unable to produce a single thought. He gulped, his face completely red. He was then thankful that the room was nearly completely dark. Ludwig placed his hand on Feliciano's shoulder, and much to the Italian's surprise-as well as his own-pulled him closer. Their eyes locked once more, crystal eyes searching for a secure have to reside in.

"Feliciano..." he breathed, "I...I need to think..."

The Italian tilted his head, then proceeded to shift back. "...I understand. I'm sorry for being troublesome." Ludwig shook his head. "That's not it. I just...need to think things over. My answer isn't 'no'...you do know that, right?" Feliciano merely nodded weakly as he walked over to the doorway. "Good night...Ludwig. Sweet dreams."

(border)

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Talk.

Talk.

Even if he wanted to, Ludwig couldn't talk. He stayed in his bed for the past several hours, just thinking now. Thinking of what Feliciano said. And how he said it. And how he looked as he walked away. The blonde couldn't stand it anymore. He got up from his bed and left the room. As he peered down the moonlit hallway, the noticed that some of the lights were still on in the other rooms. However, Ludwig chose to ignore this and headed downstairs. He picked up a light jacket from the coat rack and grabbed his shoes. As he put them on, he could've sworn that someone was watching him. However, when he turned around, he didn't see anything. He shrugged of his suspicions and walked outside.

The cold air didn't greet him kindly, leaving Ludwig to shiver once they came in contact. He walked along a dirt path, not really caringwhere it would lead him. As he walked, the blonde looked up and acknowledge the stars and their mocking gleam. As for the cresent moon that layed overhead, its light made Ludwig feel uneasy. However, he just shrugged and continued along the path. The further he walked, the closer the ocean waves sounded. But when he looked ahead, all he saw was an upcoming tunnel. Where it would lead him was unknown at that moment, but he figured that it had to lead somewhere. After all, he could see the light at the end of it. He walked through it easily, the roaring waves echoing throughout the tunnel. The walls were moist due to the incoming fog, giving off an eerie tone. However, Ludwig found this rather relaxing.

As he approached the exit, he saw his destination. It was a closed off portion of the beach. He inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air. After exhaling, he couldn't help but feel like there was still a weight on his chest. He heaved a sigh, then proceeded to sit down a few inches away from the water.

"...what does he mean to me?" he asked aloud. He looked out into the horizon, watching as the tides moved back and forth.

_Let's see..._he thought,_ cons...if we got together, I'll never hear the end of it from bruder. Not to mention that Lovino would probably make me number one on his hit list. Tch, as if I'm not already number one on his hit list. Then...what if our bosses disapprove? If that's the case, should we even tell them? Now that I think about it...even if we got together, nothing would change, really. Would that be a pro or a con? Erm...let's see...pros...we'd be happy...wouldn't we? Mein gott, this is confusing..._

He looked up at the starts once more, their gleams more taunting. Their brightness laughed at him. But when he looked at the moon once more, he found it more calming. Then everything was illuminated and just like the sky that night, his answer was clear.

"Ne, Ludwig..."

Crystal eyes widened. The blonde turned around, his answer right in front of him. Feliciano smiled lightly, before shivering at the cold.

"Feliciano, how come you're not wearing a jacket?"

The Italian kept smiling as he walked over to Ludwig, sitting a few inches away from him. "Before, when I used to come here when I was younger, I used to come to this particular spot whenever I was sad. This place is really calming, don't you think?" Ludwig merely nodded. For the longest time, neither men talked much. They just exchanged glances every once in a while. At some point, the silence itself was screaming, begging to be broken.

"Erm...Feliciano...what you said earlier..."

The Italian shook his head. "Forget it. You need time, I get it." His eyes traced down to Ludwig's hand. The blonde noticed this and inched toward Feliciano's hand, only to end up pulling farther away. How disappointing. Ludwig cleared his throat and turned to Feliciano. Oh, those innocent amber eyes. They stared back at him with a hint of curiosity.

"Hm? What is it Ludwig?"

The blonde felt chills go up his spine. He gulped.

"Feliciano...I think we both know that you've waited long enough..."

This time, Feliciano was caught off guard. "Wh-What?" Ludwig placed his hand on top of Feliciano's, the warmth rippling throughout their bodies. The blonde's face was red from ear to ear, as well as the other man's.

"My answer is yes...I-I...I realized that I need to be with you...I-I love you too..."

Tears spilled from his amber eyes. "I love you, Ludwig. I love you a lot!" The blonde cupped Feliciano's face with his other hand, wiping away his tears with his thumb. "Feliciano..."

"Ludwig...does this mean we're..."

Ludwig nodded, still trying to take everything in. "J-Ja...it does..."

Feliciano pulled Ludwig into a hug. "I'm so happy! Ve, does this mean we can hug more and hold hands?"

The blonde blushed even more. "J-Ja...if you really want to..."

"Ve~ Can we kiss more, too?"

"Wh-What?"

In the tunnel, the group of eight kept their eyes on the new couple. Elizabeta wiped her eyes. "I'm so happy for them!"

"Damn, West," Gilbert laughed, "it's about fucking time!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "_Great_, just _great_." Antonio laughed at this. "Aw, don't be like that way Lovi~ You should be happy for them~"

"I agree, " Francis remarked.

"Same here! After all, Lovino, this is what you wanted to happen!" Alfred laughed.

"I think we should be a bit more quiet."

"Kiku is right," said Roderich. "Let's head back before they find out we're here."

As they made their way back, Lovino stared at his brother from the distance. "That bastard better take good care of you," he mumbled before following the others.

Feliciano leaned his head on Ludwig's chest, listening to every beat his heart made. "Before we go back, can we stay like this for a while?"

"J-Ja...of course, Feliciano."

And for what seemed to be the first time in his life, Ludwig's mind was set at ease.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for any grammar mistakes, it's 10:13 p.m. right now. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There might only be one or two more chapters, but that will be explained in detail and posted along with the next chapter. Until next time~


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